• US-China tech war: second-tier ‘legacy chips’ at forefront of battle for semiconductor supremacy
• [World] Dozens of cars pile up after icy Chinese highway crash
• Head of leading Chinese defence university sanctioned by US named as vice-minister for industry
• China and US agree to keep communication open over North Korean missile tests and escalating tension on peninsula
• Beijing warns China’s US$63 trillion financial sector: serve the real economy and enrich lives
• Singapore Airshow’s record numbers, China’s C919, raise hopes of post Covid-19 boom
• Fresh sightings of China’s J-35 fighter plans on deck of Liaoning aircraft carrier
• China’s Wang Yi urges Germany to reject protectionism and ‘bloc confrontation’ as EU eyes economic security measures
• Here’s why China is sending pandas back to the United States
• China matchmaking firms feed growing hunger for live-in sons-in-law from affluent families, lazy men need not apply
• China population: experts say birth-boosting policies should go deeper to build baby bump
• China demands drug suppliers boost imports to combat rise in winter respiratory diseases
• China’s home prices fall at a slower pace as Beijing steps in to resuscitate property sector
• China family’s expulsion from bus by tour guide for refusing to buy US$7,000 bracelet triggers official probe
• Russia makes its case to China social media users ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
• Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire
• Chinese police work in Kiribati as Beijing expands Pacific security ties to counter US influence
• Chinese and US astronomers make lunar history in collaboration to study the moon, the Milky Way and the universe
• China’s stealth military device, Singapore’s grant for Taylor Swift, Hong Kong talent scheme earners: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week
• In jab at China, US development official touts ‘big-hearted’ aid rooted in cooperation, ‘not debt traps’
• Chinese business leader urges Beijing to ‘let common sense prevail’ amid private sector struggles
• China officials dump salt on food at village banquet to mark baby’s first haircut in bid to clamp down on excessive spending in rural areas
• Is EU ‘living in the past’ as it mulls sanctions on Indian, Chinese firms exporting to Russia?
• China can learn from Russia to beat Western sanctions as ‘de-risking’ pressures mount, foreign affairs expert says

US-China tech war: second-tier ‘legacy chips’ at forefront of battle for semiconductor supremacy

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253031/us-china-tech-war-second-tier-legacy-chips-forefront-battle-semiconductor-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed

When the US Commerce Department this week announced its largest award to date under the US$50 billion Chips for America programme, it signalled that Washington’s semiconductor battle with Beijing would increasingly focus on second-tier “legacy chips”.

In all, about US$1.5 billion would go to leading American chip maker GlobalFoundries to help the firm expand two manufacturing facilities, open a new one and “strengthen domestic legacy chip supply”, the US government said on Monday.

The older-generation chips are traditionally made using 28-nanometre or larger etching technology. GlobalFoundries also produces chips measuring 12nm and above, which it has called “essential chips”. Such integrated circuits are still used widely in cars, home appliances and consumer electronics.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some Western countries begin to either discuss or perhaps even implement restrictions on the use of Chinese chips,” historian Chris Miller, author of the 2022 book Chip War, told the Post, adding that legacy chips were going to be an “increasing part of public discussion and debate in Western countries”.

These contrast with the most advanced chips measuring under 8nm in size and used in products like smartphones and supercomputers.

Neither the US nor China has yet been able to make the world’s most cutting-edge 3nm chips, manufactured exclusively by Taiwan, although both are trying, and this pitched battle has sharpened their attention on the legacy category.

The chips programme signed into law in 2022 by US President Joe Biden aims to restore home-grown production of the tiny brains powering modern gadgets. The initiative comes as Beijing doubles down on efforts to cut its reliance on imported chips.

In the run-up to the American presidential election in November, analysts expect a slew of US policy actions targeting China, including those aimed squarely at legacy chips.

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This follows rising interest in legacy chips from the White House and Congress, who strongly criticise the subsidies China extends to its chip makers as it navigates US restrictions imposed in phases since October 2022.

Washington was worried about Beijing’s subsidies leading to overcapacity and price distortion, Miller said.

Miller believed this was the case based on reports that top Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation had announced billions of dollars in new capital, while it also predicted a “global glut” of some legacy chips.

Describing tariffs as a standard trade policy tool to address concerns about subsidised chips from China, Miller said other measures under consideration included potential new tariffs or limitations on American market access.

SMIC, Huawei among top recipients of Chinese government funding this year

“There have been a couple of firms that have said that they face pricing pressure due to supply shifting demand for certain types of foundational chips,” he explained, saying most of Beijing’s handouts to the domestic chip industry predated US controls.

Beijing has provided an estimated US$150 billion in subsidies in the last decade, according to a recent US Commerce Department report. This has created “an unlevel global playing field for US and other foreign competitors”, it said.

In 2022 alone, the Chinese government awarded more than US$1.75 billion in grants to 190 domestically listed semiconductor companies.

But Paul Triolo of Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington-based consulting firm, expressed scepticism about fears of overcapacity in the sector.

It was not clear that “Chinese capacity is anywhere near producing overcapacity, particularly as still 80-to-90 per cent of imports are semiconductor consumption”, he said, calling the concerns “a little bit fanciful right now”.

Yet Triolo, a former US government research analyst, predicted “in the coming weeks … we’ll see a lot of different measures”, including many other Chinese chip companies added to US entity lists, the catalogue of foreign entities subject to US licence requirements for export or transfer.

The Biden administration felt greater pressure to appear tough on China with 2024 Republican front runner and former president Donald Trump “weighing in regularly”, he said, describing “a lot of orchestration and choreography” in Washington as to when to implement some of these policies.

Monday’s announced aid package will boost GlobalFoundries’ ability to produce dedicated chips for US carmaker General Motors. It will also be used to upgrade another GlobalFoundries facility in Burlington, Vermont.

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The steps would make GlobalFoundries the first US producer of chips used in electric vehicles, power grids and 5G and 6G smartphones. The company also plans to build a large-scale fabrication facility in New York to make advanced chips not yet available in the US.

Legacy chips are now regarded as holding strategic value because of their versatility, used in the production of broadband, factory automation systems, military systems and medical devices.

Russia, for instance, has extracted chips from refrigerators and dishwashers for use in military equipment following the West’s imposition of sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

The vast majority of chips manufactured globally are legacy chips, not the advanced variety. According to research firm International Data Corporation, about 67 per cent of semiconductors produced in 2021 were above 16nm.

At present, Asia accounts for most chips produced worldwide, with just 12 per cent made in the US. In fact, about 70 per cent of total semiconductor production in 2022 came from just four economies – South Korea, Taiwan, mainland China and Japan – according to Semi, a US-based semiconductor lobbying group.

For chips in the 50-to-180nm range, China is estimated to control about 30 per cent of global production, according to a Rhodium Group report last April.

Still, the world’s largest manufacturing hub spends more on imported chips than on oil, producing about 36 per cent of the world’s electronics.

China imported a whopping US$378 billion worth of semiconductors and assembled 35 per cent of the world’s electronic devices in 2020, according to the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association.

Last year China imported US$349.4 billion in chips, down 15.4 per cent in value from 2022, official data showed. Despite the decline, chips remained the top item imported by the world’s second-largest economy.

Now Beijing is looking to become more self-sufficient.

In quantum tech entanglement with China, US ‘may already be behind’: think tank

Its latest customs data showed Chinese imports of chip-making equipment surged in value by nearly 80 per cent last October from a year earlier as mainland manufacturers rushed to buy tools before updated US trade restrictions took effect in November.

And Chinese chip makers were forecast to start production at 18 new fabs this year, according to Semi.

Within a decade, China could control about 46 per cent of global capacity in the 50-to-180nm range, the Rhodium Group forecast, with mainland China and Taiwan together possibly responsible for 80 per cent of 20-to-45nm foundry capacity over the next three to five years.

In addition, China’s mature-process capacity, encompassing chips that are 28nm and above, is expected to grow from 29 to 33 per cent by 2027, according to TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market research firm.

These developments have transpired as the US has long prioritised cutting-edge chips, motivated by national security concerns over the Chinese military’s access to advanced sensitive technology.

Huawei climbs back to No 1 spot in China smartphone sales

The alarm has precipitated Washington’s most high-profile chip measures, such as targeting onshoring manufacturing, export restrictions and outbound investment screening

The US voiced apprehension, for example, over open-source chip designing software RISC-V, noted Triolo, which was “not really being used for the most advanced semiconductors”.

That said, Washington appears to be seizing on legacy chips for closer scrutiny.

Last October, the Commerce Department added some less-advanced chipmaking equipment to US export-control restrictions along with those used to make the most advanced semiconductors.

In January, soon after the first Chips for America funding of US$35 million was allocated towards advanced chips for fighter planes, the Commerce Department granted US$162 million to Arizona-based chip maker Microchip Technology to “support its legacy chip-manufacturing efforts”.

Around that time, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo launched a survey of more than 100 companies in the automotive, aerospace, defence and other industries to understand how they procure and use legacy chips.

The survey materialised after Raimondo said she had “heard enough anecdotally” that China’s subsidisation of legacy chips was “starting to distort the US market”.

The US Commerce Department is not alone in picking up on the issue.

Last month, the Republican-led House select committee on competition with the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai decrying the “far less attention” given to Chinese-made legacy chips.

Beijing was “on track to flood the United States and global markets with foundational semiconductors”, the panel warned. It called for “component tariffs” because most legacy chips enter the US as part of finished devices.

Replacing Chinese IT equipment in US will cost billions of dollars more: analysts

Even as Washington mulls stricter action on legacy chips, experts have disagreed on whether SMIC’s recent success in producing a 7nm chip qualified as creative adaptability to develop advanced semiconductors.

Amid the curbs, US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies shocked the world last year when it began offering a smartphone with a SMIC-made 7nm chip inside it. SMIC is now said to be on the verge of producing a 5nm chip.

Nevertheless, Miller believed SMIC’s 7nm chip could not be described as an “example of unique innovation”.

“None of the tools were used, so far as we know, in a unique way,” he said, adding that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest chip maker, had used them “more or less in the same way” to make the 7nm chip five years ago.

At any rate, the development has prompted concern in Washington. The Commerce Department is now investigating how SMIC obtained the tools to make the chip in apparent violation of US restrictions.

Renewal of US-China science deal hinges on personal safety, reciprocity: scholar

Triolo argued SMIC’s 7nm chip was innovative in the sense that the chip maker “repurposed these tools in ways that the industry outside China had not done”.

Furthermore, it was difficult to gauge the success of tech-control measures since their goals seemed to have shifted, he said.

The point of the measures has been characterised as the US “trying to stop China from getting access to semiconductors that can be used for military purposes”, he added.

And while the US has worried primarily about cutting-edge chips, it is now older- legacy chips that pose grave threats since advanced semiconductors are not widely used for military applications.

“Most of the basic military systems”, Triolo said, “use mature-node semiconductors”.

[World] Dozens of cars pile up after icy Chinese highway crash

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68378710At least nine people were injured in the incident, which Chinese state media said involved over 100 cars.

Head of leading Chinese defence university sanctioned by US named as vice-minister for industry

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3253022/head-leading-chinese-defence-university-sanctioned-us-named-vice-minister-industry?utm_source=rss_feed

The head of a university sanctioned by the United States over its close links to the Chinese military has been named as one of the country’s vice-ministers for industry and information technology.

Shan Zhongde, a mechanical industrial researcher who was identified as leading scientist under the government’s Ten Thousands Talents Programme, was previously head of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which has close ties to the military and defence industry.

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In May 2020 Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation banning graduate students with links to the People’s Liberation Army from receiving US visa – a move media reports said was aimed at the university and other related research institutions known as the Seven Sons of National Defence.

Trump said the measure was designed to stop spying and the illegal collection of American intellectual property – accusations China denied.

Later in the year, the university was also included on a entities list that identified institutions that posed a threat to US national security.

The Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was classified as high-risk by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in its China Defence Universities Tracker. The think tank said this was because of “its involvement in economic espionage and very high level of defence research” and role in top secret projects.

Shan was appointed as university president shortly after Trump signed the proclamation and was promoted to become its party chief in 2023.

His appointment as vice-minister comes at a time of intense competition between the US and China over technology.

Shan earned a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University in 2002 and later joined the China Academy of Machinery Science and Technology, a state-owned organisation specialising in research relating to equipment manufacturing.

He was made deputy head of the academy in 2014 and became the deputy general manager in 2018 of its group enterprise which oversees a dozen research institutions.

Shan has supervised over 60 graduate students and been granted more than 30 international patents in countries including the US, Japan, Germany and Russia, according to his university’s website.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, responsible for promoting China’s technological development and innovation, plays a key role in Beijing’s drive to become self-reliant in technology and reduce its vulnerability to US restrictions.

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Other senior figures in the ministry also come from specialist backgrounds relating to China’s core interests.

The ministry is led by Jin Zhuanglong, an aerospace expert who specialised in winged missile design, while its first vice-minister Zhang Kejian previously headed the China Academy of Engineering Physics, a defence institution responsible for technology such as atomic energy and lasers.

China and US agree to keep communication open over North Korean missile tests and escalating tension on peninsula

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3253029/china-and-us-agree-keep-communication-open-over-north-korean-missile-tests-and-escalating-tension?utm_source=rss_feed

China and the US have agreed to continue communicating over the situation on the Korean peninsula, as tensions were ratcheted up in the region after a series of missile tests by North Korea.

In a meeting via video link on Thursday, Liu Xiaoming, China’s special envoy for Korean peninsula affairs, said a stable Korean peninsula was in the interests of the region and the world.

“All parties concerned should face up to the crux of the question of the peninsula and address their respective concerns in a balanced manner through meaningful dialogue,” Liu told Jung Pak, the US deputy special representative for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as North Korea is officially known.

“China will continue to play a constructive role in advancing the process of a political settlement of the peninsula issue,” Liu said, according to a brief statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.

According to the Chinese readout, Pak responded by saying that “the US values China’s role in addressing the peninsula issue and hopes to communicate and cooperate with China in this regard”.

The meeting on Thursday came amid a tentative detente between China and the US following a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in San Francisco in November during which the two leaders exchanged views on key regional and global challenges, including the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

New North Korean rocket launch system poses new puzzle for China

It also came as tensions escalated between the two Koreas.

This month, North Korea’s parliament voted to scrap all economic cooperation agreements with South Korea.

Last week, its leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the testing of new Padasuri-6 surface-to-sea missiles and warned that his country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed waters near the South Korean border islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong.

On the sideline of the G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Rio on Thursday, top diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea met in a trilateral meeting, during which they agreed to pursue closer cooperation in addressing North Korea’s steady development of nuclear and missile capabilities, and its expanding military cooperation with Russia.

And South Korea and the US, in an effort to strengthen deterrence against North Korea, staged air drills in South Korea on Friday. Seoul’s air force said the F-35A stealth fighters formed a joint team to train on defensive counter air manoeuvres, such as intercepting simulated enemy aircraft and cruise missiles.

Washington has repeatedly called on China – a major ally and economic lifeline to North Korea – to use its leverage to reign in Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and persuade Kim to return to nuclear negotiations.

However, Beijing insisted that the lack of trust between Washington and Pyongyang was the “crux” of the issue and that the US should take responsibility.

To break diplomatic isolation from the US and its allies, North Korea has sought closer ties with China and Russia.

Last month, it hosted Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong, who held talks with his North Korean counterpart Pak Myong-ho in Pyongyang and met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, the two sides agreed to “strengthen strategic communication at all levels, deepen traditional friendship and practical cooperation, and closely coordinate and cooperate at the multilateral level, to promote the sustained development” between the two neighbours, which would mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties this year.

Putin gifts car to North Korea’s Kim in boost to Moscow-Pyongyang bromance

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin has accepted an invitation to visit North Korea that was extended during Kim’s six-day visit to Russia in September.

In an interview last week, Pak, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and a Korean American scholar who was picked by Biden in 2021, said in an interview that China should condemn North Korea’s “deepening cooperation” with Russia.

“The DPRK issue is China’s problem, as well,” Pak said, according to Bloomberg. “It’s not just our problem. China has a role to play and it has influence.”

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Beijing warns China’s US$63 trillion financial sector: serve the real economy and enrich lives

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253016/beijing-warns-chinas-us63-trillion-financial-sector-serve-real-economy-and-enrich-lives?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s financial sector needs to focus on supporting the real economy and must refrain from “fake financial innovation”, state media has proclaimed amid a tightening of regulations as Beijing seeks to flex its financial might.

In what is widely believed to be a warning against capital idling and speculative activities by banks and lending institutions, People’s Daily called for the 453-trillion-yuan (US$63 trillion) financial sector to be more dedicated to technological innovation, advanced manufacturing, green development and small enterprises.

Financial institutions should avoid “letting money circulate within the sector” for the sake of arbitrage, and should not allow themselves to be distracted from the real economy, the Communist Party mouthpiece said in a commentary on Friday.

The warning came as regulators toughened rules governing quant trading – which utilises strategies generated by computer algorithms and involves the rapid buying and selling of securities – while also addressing concerns over the fragility of the nation’s financial system against the backdrop of a local debt mountain, property slump and stock market chaos due to the pull-out of overseas capital.

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Zhao Xijun, a finance professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said the article was mainly pointing to risks in China’s huge shadow banking industry that has filled the gaps left by the traditional banking sector, such as peer-to-peer lending schemes that collapsed and “damaged social stability” in the past few years.

“Now some companies are taking advantage of the low interest rate for bank loans, borrowing from traditional banks and lending the money at higher rates, and thereby leading funds to circulate in the financial sector without entering the real economy,” he said.

Beijing has vowed to regulate all financial activities. But at the same time, it has pledged to further open up to the global market to achieve its goal of turning China into a financial powerhouse.

China’s stock exchanges on Tuesday banned a major quant fund from trading for three days, citing “market disruption”, to stabilise the market and prop up investor confidence.

The CSI 300 Index, which tracks the biggest stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, suffered a cumulative 41 per cent slide from early 2021 through 2023. It has climbed 1.62 per cent so far this year.

“Innovation is the driving force of the financial industry, but innovation must be based on integrity,” the state commentary said, calling for financial resources to “better serve the wider economy and make people’s lives easier”.

Li Yang, chairman of the National Institution for Finance and Development, said high-level meetings on China’s financial system in recent months indicated that China’s leadership is putting more emphasis on function over profitability.

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“The first thing is to fulfil its functions, which is to serve the real economy, and to support scientific and technological innovation, the Belt and Road Initiative, and industrial policies,” he said in a speech during a seminar co-organised by the Shanghai Development Research Foundation last month.

“Whether there are profits should come next,” he said, quoting a key note from an article published in December by the Central Financial Committee, a new organ created last year to tighten the party’s grip over the financial sector.

China is facing an “extremely challenging strategic task” to become a financial superpower with its own characteristics, as President Xi Jinping ordered, he noted.

It still lags far behind the United States in many aspects, with issues including an unbalanced structure of financial institutions, a high-risk debt market, and a sluggish stock market, he said.

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Singapore Airshow’s record numbers, China’s C919, raise hopes of post Covid-19 boom

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253039/singapore-airshows-record-numbers-chinas-c919-raise-hopes-post-covid-19-boom?utm_source=rss_feed

Record numbers attended the trade section of the first fully post-pandemic Singapore Airshow this week, with exhibitors and delegates optimistic about the aviation industry despite suppliers’ struggles to keep up with rebounding travel demand.

Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022 when foreign visitors required daily rapid tests for Covid-19, and more than the 54,000 who visited in 2018. The 2020 edition was rocked by last-minute cancellations as the virus spread around the world.

Outside Asia’s largest air show, transport problems snarled arrivals and departures, especially during the first days. On Tuesday, lines for free shuttle buses to the Expo public transport hub led to waits as long as three hours in temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and taxis to the city cost as much as three times the usual fare.

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“‘Worst transport experience’: Crawling traffic, long waits for rides frustrate Singapore Airshow visitors”, ran a headline in local newspaper the Straits Times.

Leck Chet Lam, managing director of show organiser Experia, blamed “higher attendance than in previous editions”.

In the air-conditioned display space, commercial exhibitors hawked planes, drones, surveillance technology, services and equipment. The displays attracted buyers and enthusiasts, with the Korea Aerospace Industries booth drawing a line on Wednesday for attendees to get pilots’ autographs and pose for selfies.

More than 1,000 commercial and defence companies from 50 countries participated in the show, organisers said.

Russian companies did not take part amid the war in Ukraine, but Israeli companies Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which dropped out of the Dubai Airshow in November amid the Israel-Gaza war, attended.

“The general mood is extremely positive but also very demanding,” said Dennis Kohr, head of corporate sales Asia-Pacific for aircraft maintenance provider Lufthansa Technik Group.

“It’s the first air show after the pandemic; there is not only a huge demand for air travel, but also huge demand for MRO services,” he added, referring to maintenance, repair and overhaul.

Natasha Pheiffer, regional managing director for Asia at British defence firm BAE Systems, said it was great to see attendees face to face again.

“We had a really busy week … discussing future air capability, our space and autonomous air technologies, our cyber, electronic warfare, sea, and land offering and our presence across Asia,” she said.

Delegates stepped into the tropical heat for around an hour of aerial displays each day, including demonstration flights by air force teams from Singapore, South Korea and India, among others, and a fly-by by the C919, made by China’s COMAC. It was the first flight outside Chinese territory for COMAC’s home-grown jet.

COMAC was also the first company to announce orders at the show, flagging a deal with Tibet Airlines for 40 C919 single-aisle planes and 10 ARJ21 regional jets, plus six ARJ21s for China’s Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group.

Shortly afterwards, Royal Brunei Airlines said it was ordering four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Airbus announced an order for five A350 freighters and three A330neo widebody passenger jets from Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines. Airbus also had a provisional deal with Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet for 20 A330neo widebody airliners.

China’s C919 jet makes international debut in Singapore with air show test flight

Sustainability was in focus, with Singapore announcing a green jet fuel mandate to be funded by a levy on travellers and air show organisers stressing the importance of protecting the environment, but the industry remains divided over how to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Supply chain issues clouded some of the show’s optimism, with exhibitors citing long lead times and high costs, which have dogged the industry since Covid-19 and worsened after Russia invaded Ukraine. The problems have been especially acute for raw materials such as aerospace-grade metals.

Still, Paul Bolton, chief operating officer of First Aviation Services, was hopeful the worst was over and that growing demand would lead manufacturers back to aerospace production.

“It will get better in maybe two to three years,” he said.

Fresh sightings of China’s J-35 fighter plans on deck of Liaoning aircraft carrier

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3253044/fresh-sightings-chinas-j-35-fighter-plans-deck-liaoning-aircraft-carrier?utm_source=rss_feed

Photos have been posted online of an apparent full-scale dummy of China’s new fifth-generation fighter on one of the country’s aircraft carriers.

The images began circulating on Weibo last week and appear to be of a model of a J-35 stealth fighter on the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier.

Then on Monday state-owned, Hong Kong-based newspaper Wen Wei Pao published clearer pictures of the dummy wrapped in a tarpaulin on the carrier at a shipyard on the northeast coast owned by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company.

The J-35 is being developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation as China’s second fifth-generation fighter jet, following the J-20.

The jet is designed for use on aircraft carriers and is still in the development and prototype phase but it is touted as the Chinese equivalent of Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation fighter jet, the F-35.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the dummy of the J-35 could serve various purposes.

“One most straightforward assessment is that the Liaoning, which has long been designated as a test bed for PLA carrier capabilities, is conducting experiments on the J-35 as a viable carrier-borne fighter jet,” Koh said.

He said the dummy could also be for “signalling purposes”.

“The Chinese are possibly aware they’re being watched with interest by external parties so the mock-up is put out there in open view to send a veritable signal, possibly to the US,” Koh said.

A scale model of the J-35 was first unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2012 and observers say the most recent images indicate the jets could soon be in operation.

Once handed over to the People’s Liberation Army, the J-35 is likely to be mixed and matched with the fourth-generation J-15 already on the Liaoning and Shandong, China’s second carrier.

The J-35s will also reportedly be stationed on the Fujian, the country’s newest aircraft carrier, which is undergoing sea trials and expected to be in service by 2025.

Unlike its two predecessors, which used ski-jump take-off ramps, the Fujian has an electromagnetic catapult system that allows planes to be launched more frequently and with more fuel and munitions.

Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, said it was feasible to deploy the J-35 on all three Chinese carriers.

But the fighter’s guidance systems and maintenance facilities would have to be adapted for the Liaoning, the carrier that was commissioned over a decade ago.

“If the deployment test on Liaoning is successful ... the same deployment will be implemented on the Shandong and Fujian ships as soon as possible,” he said, adding that similar developments in Japan and the US had prompted China to speed up.

But having J-35s on carriers of different launch types could be challenging, according to Yoon Suk-joon, a visiting research fellow at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs and specialist in Chinese weapons systems.

“There is a significant technical and operational difference between the [ski jump ramps] and the [electromagnetic catapult] method,” Yoon said.

“This means that even if the J-35 type is mounted on the Fujian for sea trials, training is required for the carrier-based aircraft pilots already on the Liaoning and Shandong.

“There is a big difference between doing this on an actual aircraft carrier than on the ground.”

China has been promoting its new stealth fighters abroad in an attempt to present its aircraft as a choice for countries without access to US and European fifth-generation jets.

Chinese state-owned firms showcased a model of a J-35 – also known as the FC-31 – at the World Defence Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this month. It was also featured in the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi last year.

Last month, Pakistani Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu announced that his country planned to buy the jets as part of plans to modernise its air force, but did not give further details of the procurement.

“The J-35 would serve as a potential alternative buy among a host of offerings worldwide, and depending on the client’s financing ability and mission requirements, as well as political considerations,” Koh said.

“But for now, one can only say the J-35 has potential, especially among the less-endowed air arms around the world, in particular in the developing world.”

China’s Wang Yi urges Germany to reject protectionism and ‘bloc confrontation’ as EU eyes economic security measures

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3253045/chinas-wang-yi-urges-germany-reject-protectionism-and-bloc-confrontation-eu-eyes-economic-security?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urged Germany to oppose “bloc confrontation” and protectionism, renewing earlier calls amid efforts by Western countries to “de-risk” from Beijing.

In a meeting with German foreign policy adviser Jens Plotner in Beijing on Friday, Wang said ties between the two countries, which he called “major powers with world influence”, held “global significance” and transcended bilateral relations.

He added that stabilising and developing ties would offer greater certainty to the world, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

“We must adhere to unity and cooperation, oppose bloc confrontation, abandon protectionism and not engage in de-sinicisation to reduce risks so as to promote the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations,” he said.

“China and Germany should encourage the international community to strengthen unity and coordination, improve global governance, and make positive contributions to world stability, development and prosperity.”

China urges France to play ‘constructive role’ as trade, Ukraine cloud EU ties

Wang, China’s foreign minister, earlier this month warned that the West would be making a “historic mistake” if it decoupled from China in the name of “de-risking”.

His comments came after the European Commission outlined plans to bolster its economic security by more rigorously screening foreign investments and placing tighter controls on technology exports to rivals such as China.

Wang told Plotner on Friday that the development of the two economies should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a challenge, adding that there was “huge cooperation potential” between them.

“Both sides should adhere to a correct understanding and view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective,” he said.

Wang added that Beijing was willing to strengthen communication, deepen cooperation, and “consolidate strategic mutual trust” with Germany.

EU blacklists Chinese firms for first time in latest Russian sanctions package

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Plotner said Germany attached great importance to developing ties with China and was glad to see Beijing play a “more important role” in global affairs.

He was also quoted as saying that Germany hoped to expand cooperation with China and work together to fight climate change and promote world peace.

Plotner’s meeting with Wang came weeks before an expected trip to China by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, though neither Beijing nor Berlin has confirmed the visit. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported earlier this month that Scholz would travel to China with a business delegation in April.

Wang met his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock last week on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, where they pledged to enhance cooperation.

Baerbock told Wang that China and Germany should “demonstrate international responsibility” and properly handle their differences, given the conflicts and challenges in the world today.

Here’s why China is sending pandas back to the United States

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/23/china-pandas-san-diego-zoo-united-states/2024-02-23T00:06:13.730Z

As relations between the United States and China have soured in recent years, Beijing has been making its unhappiness known by recalling its softest power: pandas. Three of the black-and-white fluff balls departed the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington last year, triggering a long and tearful farewell. Only one zoo in the country, Atlanta, still had pandas.

But this week came the surprise news that San Diego Zoo had struck a deal to bring giant pandas back to its facility. Then National Zoo officials indicated Thursday that they were “in discussions with our Chinese partner, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, to develop a future giant panda program.”

The hidden power of China’s pandas — and why the U.S. is losing them all

What is China saying about this?

The official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday that the China Wildlife Conservation Association had inked agreements with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Madrid Zoo Aquarium of Spain “concerning cooperation on the conservation of giant pandas, as part of efforts to step up the protection of the species on a global level.”

A new round of giant panda conservation collaborative research was about to begin, Xinhua said, focusing on the prevention and control of major diseases for giant pandas, the protection of habitats and wild populations. “These efforts will establish an international academic exchange platform to promote exchanges in the protection of flagship species and umbrella species. They will also promote people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries.”

That message was amplified at the Foreign Ministry briefing on Thursday, where spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “We expect the new round of cooperation can further enrich research results on vulnerable species like the giant panda, promote people-to-people exchanges and enhance friendship between people.”

Is this an about-face? And why?

Not quite. When Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited San Francisco in November, he suggested Beijing would send new pandas to the United States, calling them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.” Speaking to business executives at a dinner, he said, “We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples.”

The decision to send pandas to San Diego and continue talks with the National Zoo in Washington signals that at least for now, China plans to continue its “panda diplomacy” — the lending of giant pandas to countries around the world as a show of goodwill — despite tensions between the two countries.

After the pandas left the National Zoo in Washington last year, only one giant panda program in the United States remained — at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia. That loan is expected to expire in late 2024. That would have left the United States with no giant pandas for the first time since 1972, when Beijing presented two pandas to President Richard M. Nixon as the two Cold War rivals prepared to normalize ties by the end of the decade. At the time, observers called the recall of the giant pandas “punitive panda diplomacy.”

Last year, Chinese internet users also rallied for the return of the giant panda Ya Ya from the Memphis Zoo following reports of her poor health and the death of another panda at the zoo. Bloggers claimed Ya Ya, who was returned to China in April, was being mistreated as a result of U.S.-China tensions.

Are all pandas owned by China?

China, home to the only natural habitat for pandas, has ownership of most of the giant pandas in the world.

Panda diplomacy can trace its roots back to as early as 685 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian presented two pandas as a gift to the Japanese emperor. Between the 1950s and 1980s, China gave the bears as diplomatic gifts to the United States, Russia, North Korea, Japan and other countries.

But in 1984, it began lending pandas on renewable 10-year contracts for between $500,000 and $1 million a year for each panda. Under the terms of the loans, all cubs born abroad belong to China and are to be sent back to China before they turn 4 years old.

There are about 1,864 pandas living in the wild today, according to the World Wildlife Foundation. According to China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, there were 56 pandas on loan to other countries in 2023. China has gifted four pandas to Hong Kong, a special administrative region under China’s jurisdiction. In 2008, it gifted two pandas to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of China.

Giant pandas, now classified as vulnerable rather than endangered as a result of protection efforts, once roamed Myanmar and northern Vietnam as well as southern and eastern parts of China. Today, they live only in the mountains of southwestern China.

What does China get out of panda diplomacy?

For decades, the bears have served as goodwill ambassadors that soften China’s image abroad, where it has been criticized for human rights abuses and its increasingly authoritarian system.

No leader knows how much pandas symbolize enduring friendship with Beijing more than Russian President Vladimir Putin. China gave Russia two pandas in April 2019 on an unusually extended 15-year loan. Later during a visit to see them at the Moscow Zoo in June, Xi referred to Putin as his “best friend.”

Two pandas arrived in Malaysia in May 2014, less than two months after a Malaysian Airlines flight carrying more than 200 people disappeared between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, which had boosted tensions and spurred campaigns of boycotts and protests by citizens of both countries. The pandas, however, became instant celebrities.

As for the new round of panda diplomacy with the United States, experts said the pandas are meant to add to the “positive elements” of the U.S.-China relationship during a difficult time.

“[China] hopes this will provide more impetus for a better China-U.S. relationship,” said Shen Yamei, director of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank under China’s Foreign Ministry. “They want to continue the kind of cooperation … where we can sit down and talk and reach some kind of consensus.”

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China matchmaking firms feed growing hunger for live-in sons-in-law from affluent families, lazy men need not apply

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3252536/china-matchmaking-firms-feed-growing-hunger-live-sons-law-affluent-families-lazy-men-need-not-apply?utm_source=rss_feed

Growing numbers of men in China are taking advantage of a matchmaking service which turns customary marriage practices on their head and could ease the burdens of being a traditional husband.

However, the increasingly popular “live-in son-in-law” matchmaking service, which seeks to match single men with wealthy women, has a golden rule – lazy men need not apply.

The Jindianzi matchmaking agency in Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan district in Zhejiang province, eastern China, which specialises in such introductions, went viral during the Chinese Spring Festival.

The tradition in China is for the woman to marry into the man’s family, but the live-in son-in-law service turns the tables on this notion.

Under this arrangement, the husband moves into the wife’s property, and their children take her surname, therefore that of his father-in-law in most cases.

The idea, which has only gained popularity nationwide in recent years, has existed in Xiaoshan for decades.

Xiaoshan ranks top in gross domestic product among the districts of Hangzhou, one of China’s wealthiest cities.

The parents of women in the city refuse to allow their grandchildren to take the surname of another family because it is seen as symbolic of giving away their wealth.

A more recent reason for its popularity is that, by adding the husband’s name to the woman’s household, her family can receive more compensation for relocation.

A slogan on the wall of the corridor outside the agency reads: “Break the tradition of women marrying into men’s families, and start a new national campaign that marries men into women’s families”.

Chinese language has embedded traditional gender roles in the words for marriage, naming men marrying women Qu and women marrying men Jia.

The live-in son-in-law service has strict requirements for its candidates.

Li Jiyan, the founder and top matchmaker at Jindianzi agency since 1999, told the mainland media outlet Jiupai News that the basic requirements for men are “earning more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) a year, being taller than 170cm, having a credit score of at least 560, plus no criminal record or tattoos”.

The registration fee is 15,000 yuan per person to join the service for two years.

Li said the competition is fierce, and that he receives between 20 and 30 applications every day, but he made it clear the agency does not welcome men who only want to Tang Ping.

Tang Ping means “lying flat”, a phrase that has become popular in China in recent years and refers to doing the bare minimum to get by.

Li noted that an increasing number of men, including many university undergraduates, are applying to become live-in sons-in-law, expecting a wealthy wife to relieve the pressure on them to work hard and make money.

Li said the most popular candidates are men with a steady job at a state-owned company, even more popular than those who could “earn more than a million yuan but work 996” – 9am to 9pm, six days a week – “with an increasing risk of baldness”, presumably due to work stress.

After the news broke, many men on mainland social media expressed a wish to become a live-in son-in-law, while some held a different view.

“The live-in son-in-law phenomenon is still based on the traditional Jia and Qu gender hierarchy. I hope one day there will be no such difference, and getting married only means two people tying the knot,” one person on Weibo said.

“Regardless of gender, some people just want to painlessly achieve success, and they consider marriage the easiest way,” said another.

China population: experts say birth-boosting policies should go deeper to build baby bump

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253011/china-population-experts-say-birth-boosting-policies-should-go-deeper-build-baby-bump?utm_source=rss_feed

Though Beijing should provide more financial support for families to boost births, experts said, it will take more extensive measures to prevent the country’s falling population figures from jeopardising national economic growth and social cohesion.

Debate has swirled over the effectiveness of present pro-fertility policies, and calls for heavier subsidies have earned renewed attention ahead of the “two sessions” legislative meetings scheduled for early next month. Delegates at this year’s edition are likely to discuss the major problems facing the world’s second-largest economy, including demographic trends that have become objects of deep concern.

The country’s population dropped for a second year in a row in 2023, down to 1.4097 after a 2.08-million-person decline. In the same year, only 9.02 million births were reported – the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1949.

Despite an array of pronatalist initiatives, most observers agree China’s low births are the result of a cocktail of social and economic factors defying any one quick fix, and if left unresolved will continue to dim China’s already cloudy economic outlook.

But some analysts have made more upbeat estimates.

Birth rates can be raised by 20 per cent – two million more babies a year – if the government gives preferential tax treatment and monthly cash subsidies to families, according to a new report by the YuWa Population Research Institute. The institute estimated the increase could be achieved by paying 1,000 yuan per child in families with two children and 2,000 yuan per child for families with three or more.

The report, co-authored by Trip.com chairman James Liang, also argued flexible working arrangements enabling parents to work from home could boost birth rates by 4 to 10 per cent, resulting in 400,000 to one million additional children a year.

Incentivising the hiring of foreign nannies, providing equal parental leave for both parents, protecting the rights of single mothers, funding assistive reproductive technologies and education reform could all accelerate birth rates, the authors concluded, with the lattermost policy carrying the potential for a 30 per cent jolt.

However, many popular proposals for raising birth rates are superficial and fail to consider the complexities of China’s unique societal context, an expert said, speaking anonymously due to the increasing sensitivity of the topic.

“We have over 300 million women of childbearing age. Among them, how many are willing to have children? How many are fundamentally unwilling to do so? And how many fall somewhere in between?” the person said, urging detailed research be undertaken in advance of government action.

The analyst called attention to China’s traditional emphasis on childbirth within marriage, and pointed out that relaxing policies concerning extramarital reproduction, such as sperm donation and surrogacy, could have unforeseeable effects on social stability.

In addition, prolonged maternity leave – a popular suggestion to address China’s declining fertility – could also have a downside, the person said. Extended leave could potentially undermine female workers’ competitiveness in the job market, burdening them further and compounding their already strong reluctance to let childbirth jeopardise their careers.

Hiring foreign nannies who lack proficiency in Chinese is also a “fanciful idea,” the expert said, as many young couples in China “wouldn’t dare entrust their children to their own parents” due to the meticulous standards they hold.

“Chinese treat their children as if they were delicate Rolex timepieces, thus it is unrealistic to expect them to switch to the standards for an electronic watch that costs around 10 yuan.”

The presence of foreign labourers could also give rise to social problems in terms of cultural differences, the person added, and sending them away would be much more difficult than hiring them.

He Dan, director of the China Population and Development Research Centre, a think tank affiliated with the National Health Commission, said there is an urgent need for a shift in mindset and institutional breakthroughs.

“Overall, the challenge of low fertility rates needs to be addressed systematically and requires more than piecemeal solutions,” she wrote in an article published in the December issue of the commission’s Population and Health magazine.

“China’s fertility support policies need to find a convergence point between economic development and social progress, and establish a connection between social welfare and social investment.”

Li Ting, a professor of population with Renmin University, argued that giving out money might provide a boost to births in the short term, but will not be sustainable in the long run.

“I don’t think [institutions] are willing to allocate such a significant amount [to boosting births],”she said.

“East Asian countries have been providing support for childbirth for many years, but the effects have not been substantial. Moreover, there are other factors at play, such as declining marriage rates, postponement of marriage and childbirth, and declining fertility rates, all of which collectively suppress overall birth levels.”

China demands drug suppliers boost imports to combat rise in winter respiratory diseases

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252943/china-demands-drug-suppliers-boost-imports-combat-rise-winter-respiratory-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) has demanded suppliers resolve a shortage of imported drugs that are widely used to treat respiratory diseases and influenza, following complaints by doctors.

A report posted on State Council website gov.cn said the rise of seasonal infectious diseases had rapidly pushed up demand for imported drugs, including azithromycin for injection, an antibiotic used to treat a range of infections.

Azithromycin is included on China’s National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) which lists government-selected drugs eligible for full or partial reimbursement every year.

Although most are domestic medicines, some imported pharmaceuticals such as azithromycin injections are also on the list.

These drugs are bought by the government via designated companies. By buying in bulk, the government can lower the price of the drugs on the NRDL.

China has seen a spike in respiratory diseases caused by multiple pathogens since the middle of last year. Azithromycin was much sought after during a surge in mycoplasma pneumoniae among children last year.

During the spikes last year many hospitals were overwhelmed by patients and internet users scrambled for the antibiotics to treat their children despite warnings from doctors that the drug should only be used under prescription.

Indian police say snake venom being smuggled for use in Chinese medicine

Decades of overuse and improper use of azithromycin has resulted in mycoplasma pneumoniae being drug resistant in China.

The NHSA said it had summoned suppliers for talks and warnings following complaints by doctors of a drug shortage. The administration manages China’s government-backed healthcare insurance schemes.

It said it would step up inspections to ensure suppliers distributed the drugs on time and would encourage healthcare institutes to report any shortage or delayed delivery of azithromycin injections or other drugs on the NRDL to treat respiratory diseases.

Healthcare institutes could use drugs on the reserve drug list, or substitutes in the event of a shortage, the administration said.

During the spike in respiratory diseases last year, the administration repeatedly assured the public that generic drugs were as good as imported ones, although many consumers still scrambled for imported antibiotics. To boost public confidence in generic drugs, China has conducted large-scale clinical trials.

Potent antibiotic emerges in battle against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs

In November, the World Health Organization asked China to provide more information about a spike in respiratory diseases among children in its northern regions.

The WHO later cited the Chinese government as saying no new pathogen had been found, and that the waves of outbreaks were caused by multiple pathogens, including influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – all common pathogens behind winter respiratory disease outbreaks – as well as Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

China’s home prices fall at a slower pace as Beijing steps in to resuscitate property sector

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3252970/chinas-home-prices-fall-slower-pace-beijing-steps-resuscitate-property-sector?utm_source=rss_feed

Home prices in mainland China fell in January, but the pace of decline slowed for both new and lived-in units amid persistent weakness in consumer sentiment, according to official data.

Prices of newly built homes in 70 large and medium cities fell 0.37 per cent last month, slowing from 0.45 per cent in December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

Second-hand home prices dropped 0.68 per cent, compared with a 0.79 per cent slide a month earlier.

Fewer cities saw price erosion last month. New home prices declined in 56 cities, six fewer than December, while existing home prices fell in 68 cities versus all 70 the previous month, the data showed.

The weak home prices, along with the continued contraction in new home sales, underscore a poor start for China’s property sector this year, Nomura analysts said in a note on Friday. The cut to the five-year loan prime rate (LPR) could have a limited impact, the Japanese investment bank added.

As part of Beijing’s measures to revive the flagging property sector, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut the five-year LPR, against which banks benchmark their mortgage rates, to 3.95 per cent from 4.2 per cent, the largest cut since 2019.

China’s home prices continue decline with biggest drop in nearly 9 years

“We continue to believe the most effective policy to rescue the property sector is for the PBOC to provide funding to help deliver the pre-sold undelivered homes,” Nomura analysts said.

Goldman Sachs said the bigger than expected LPR cut suggested more policy-easing could be on its way to support the sector.

The US investment bank, however, cautioned that “considering persistent property weakness related to lower-tier cities and private developers, such easing measures may only lead to an ‘L-shaped’ recovery in the sector in coming years”.

Among the four biggest metropolises in China, only Shanghai saw an increase in prices of 0.4 per cent in January, while Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen posted declines of 0.1 per cent to 0.7 per cent.

On an annual basis, the housing crisis was more pronounced, with prices of new homes in first, second and third-tier cities falling between 0.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

A Hong Kong court’s order to liquidate China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer with US$337 billion of liabilities, is likely to further weigh on homebuying sentiment on the mainland, according to a recent Fitch note.

The US rating agency expects China’s new-home sales to decline by up to 5 per cent this year. “Significant downside risk would arise if there is a large-scale suspension of home construction, as it would have a knock-on impact on already weak homebuyer sentiment.

“Such a scenario would conflict with the government’s increasing resolve to stabilise the property sector and contain spillover risk, and is not our base case.”

China family’s expulsion from bus by tour guide for refusing to buy US$7,000 bracelet triggers official probe

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3252523/china-familys-expulsion-bus-tour-guide-refusing-buy-us7000-bracelet-triggers-official-probe?utm_source=rss_feed

A family in China was told to leave a tour bus by the guide after they refused to buy a gold bracelet for 50,000 yuan (US$7,000).

A woman, surnamed Tian, from Hebei province in northern China, bought a group tour package costing 17,000 yuan from the Yunnan Guoyou International Travel Service for her family of five, which included her husband and three children.

The travel service company authorised Yunnan Golden Tree Leaf International Travel Company to conduct the tour.

On February 12, the third day of their trip, the family had a dispute with the tour guide, surnamed Zhang, for refusing to buy from a local jeweller, the mainland publication The Paper reported.

Zhang had taken a group of tourists to a shop selling jade items in the city of Lijiang, where a salesperson tried to convince Tian to buy a bracelet for 50,000 yuan.

Tian admired the item but did not want to buy it because it was too expensive for her.

However, the salesperson persistently asked her why she did not want the bracelet.

“Is it because you’re not satisfied with the introduction by me?” she asked.

After Tian responded, the salesperson suggested she should involve Zhang in the conversation.

“Are you sure you do not want to buy the bracelet?” Zhang asked.

Tian discovered that other tourists in the group had bought expensive jade products, but said she stood by her decision not to purchase the bracelet.

At this point, Zhang told Tian and her family to take another tour bus.

Shocked and angered, Tian reported the incident to Lijiang Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, the local police and the travel service company.

An official probe into the incident was launched by the local tourism board and, on February 18, Zhang was fined 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) and suspended for three months.

The business licence of the Yunnan Golden Tree Leaf International Travel Company was also revoked.

Tian received a refund of 10,000 yuan from the Yunnan Guoyou International Travel Service, though she is still waiting for an apology from Zhang.

The story angered many people on mainland social media.

“Unbelievable. The price of the bracelet is even higher than the travel package for five people,” one person said.

“Is this tourism? It’s a trap every step of the way,” asked another.

Stories involving tour guides coercing tourists to shop are often met with outrage in China.

In January, an intimidating tour guide verbally abused three students because they would not buy his expensive tour packages to Snow Town in the north of the country.

In May last year, a tour guide in the southwest of the country was captured on video trying to force sightseers to shop by saying the bus would not leave until they had “donated” money to shops.

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Russia makes its case to China social media users ahead of Ukraine war anniversary

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3252958/russia-makes-its-case-china-social-media-users-ahead-ukraine-war-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed

Russia is using China’s social media to present its narrative of events leading up to the invasion of Ukraine two years ago, in a move Chinese experts said was intended to show Russian resilience while reaching for wider public support.

The Russian embassy in Beijing on Thursday published a series of online articles, videos and commentaries denouncing Ukraine’s 2014 “Euromaidan” movement as “an unconstitutional coup” directly supported by the West.

Hashtagged “the 10th year from the coup d’état in Ukraine”, the posts on the embassy’s official Weibo and WeChat accounts coincided with the February 22 anniversary of the removal of Ukraine’s pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych.

It was also two days ahead of Saturday’s milestone second anniversary of the 2022 invasion. Earlier in the week, Russia’s state-operated Sputnik News – which has a significant Chinese-language service – also ran a series of reports on Ukraine.

While supporters of the movement – named after Kyiv’s Maidan, or “independence”, Square – called it a “revolution of dignity”, Moscow and its sympathisers in China regard the events as a Western-orchestrated colour revolution.

In a bid to appeal to Chinese nationalistic sentiment, the social media campaign accuses the US, Britain, Germany and other Western countries of interfering in the Maidan demonstrations.

The material also covers Western influence on the current Ukrainian government, as well as Ukraine’s economic struggles since Yanukovych’s fall.

Yang Cheng, executive dean of the Shanghai International Studies University’s Academy of Global Governance & Area Studies, said the campaign is part of Russia’s public diplomacy effort to reach for wider support amid limited international space.

“The overall perception of the Ukraine war is negative in international media and China, with its special ties with Russia and some members of the public showing support for Moscow, has a relatively more favourable environment,” he said.

Li Lifan, a Russia specialist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the campaign could be aiming to show Moscow’s economic and military resilience ahead of the conflict’s anniversary, as well as Russia’s presidential election in March.

“Within China there are two groups, the anti-Russian and the pro-Russia, and it seems that Russia is looking to use Russian-based narratives to demonstrate that the country remains strong and resilient, economically and spiritually, in spite of Western sanctions,” he said.

“Russia needs something to back it up, especially before the election, and Chinese social media also seems to be very interested in such narratives.”

Russia’s economy remains surprisingly resilient despite sanctions imposed by the West. In late January, the International Monetary Fund more than doubled its forecast for the pace of the country’s economic growth this year, raising it from 1.1 per cent in October to 2.6 per cent.

Sputnik News broadcast a Chinese language documentary presenting Moscow’s narrative of the decade-old events leading up to its invasion of Ukraine.

The documentary covered Ukraine’s pro-Europe protests of November 2013, Yanukovych’s ousting in February the following year, the March 2014 pro-Russia referendum in Crimea, and the subsequent war in the eastern states of Donetsk and Luhansk.

It featured comments from Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said the Euromaidan movement caused social disintegration, suppression, violence, and economic crisis in Ukraine.

The movement pushed the country and its people to “the edge of the abyss”, she said. “The only goal [the West] are pursuing is to turn Ukraine into a powerless colony and use it as a tool against Russia.”

According to Zakharova, the presented case attested “to the urgency of carrying out special military operations for the denazification and demilitarisation of Ukraine and eliminating the threat from its territory. All the tasks will be accomplished”.

Russia’s justification for its invasion of Ukraine has met with no censorship on the strictly controlled internet in China, which insists it is maintaining neutrality in the war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have maintained their close relationship, while China has significantly strengthened economic ties with sanctions-hit Russia, with annual trade growth of 25 to 30 per cent.

Putin to visit China and hold ‘several meetings’ with Xi this year

Beijing has not condemned Russia’s actions, but has called for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the conflict. Meanwhile, Western countries are pressuring China to act and help to end the conflict in Ukraine.

At an event in Beijing organised by the Polish, Ukraine and EU embassies, US envoy Nicholas Burns said: “China’s silence on the existential issue of Ukrainian sovereignty and independence is deafening. Its support to Russia is very troubling indeed.”

At the same event, Britain’s ambassador Caroline Wilson said Beijing’s “actions need to match [its] words”. She also expressed concern about the “diplomatic and practical support” for Moscow that was “sustaining Russia’s war effort”.

Additional reporting by Laura Zhou and Zhuang Pinghui

Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/feb/23/huge-cybersecurity-leak-lifts-lid-on-world-of-chinas-hackers-for-hire

A big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective clients.

The cache of more than 500 leaked files from the Chinese firm I-Soon was posted on the developer website Github and is thought by cybersecurity experts to be genuine. Some of the targets discussed include Nato and the UK Foreign Office.

The leak provides an unprecedented insight into the world of China’s hackers for hire, which the head of the UK’s security services has called a “massive” challenge for the country.

The files, which are a mixture of chat logs, company prospectuses and data samples, reveal the extent of China’s intelligence gathering operations, while also highlighting the market pressures felt by the country’s commercial hackers as they vie for business in a struggling economy.

I-Soon appears to have worked with – and later been embroiled in a commercial dispute with – another Chinese hacking outfit, Chengdu 404, whose hackers have been indicted by the US Department of Justice for cyber-attacks on companies in the US as well as pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, among other targets.

Other targets discussed in the I-Soon leaks include the British thinktank Chatham House and the public health bureaux and foreign affairs ministries of Asean countries. Some of this data seems to have been gathered on spec, while in other cases there are specific contracts with a Chinese public security bureau to gather a certain type of data.

A spokesperson for Chatham House said: “We are aware of this data coming to light and are naturally concerned. Chatham House takes data and information security extremely seriously. In the current climate, we, along with many other organisations, are the target of regular attempted attacks from both state and non-state actors.

“We have protection measures in place including technology-based safeguards which are reviewed and upgraded on a regular basis.”

A Nato official said: “The alliance faces persistent cyber-threats and has prepared for this by investing in extensive cyber defences. Nato reviews every claim of cyber-threats.”

The UK Foreign Office declined to comment.

The services offered by I-Soon are varied. In one example, the public security bureau of a city in Shandong paid nearly £44,000 to obtain access to the email inboxes of 10 targets for one year.

The company claimed to be able to hack accounts on X, obtain personal information from Facebook, obtain data from internal databases and compromise various operating systems including Mac and Android.

In one of the files there is a screenshot of a folder entitled “Notes from the secretariat of European Affairs of North Macedonia”. Another screenshot shows files that appear to relate to the EU, including one entitled “Draft EU position with regard to COP 15 part 2”. The file names reference an encryption system used by EU entities to secure official data.

In some cases, is not clear what the purpose of collecting the data was. “The Chinese state is basically hoovering up as much data as they can,” said Alan Woodward, a computer security expert at the University of Surrey. “They just want as much information as they can in case it proves useful.”

Woodward noted that unlike Russian state-linked hackers who conduct ransomware attacks or other disruptive actions, Chinese attempts tended to focus on mass data harvesting. “Some of it could be interpreted as laying the groundwork for being disruptive at a later stage,” Woodward said.

Last year, parliament’s intelligence and security committee report on China said: “China’s cyber expertise allows it to target a diverse range of organisations and datasets – and increasingly unusual ones.” Experts believe that the goal of data gathering may be to identify potential targets for human intelligence operations.

I-Soon also targeted domestic victims. In an undated cooperation agreement with a local authority in Xinjiang, I-Soon stated that it could provide “anti-terrorism” support to the local police in monitoring Uyghurs. I-Soon said that it had more than a decade of experience in accessing “various server permissions and intranet permissions in multiple countries”.

The company claimed to have obtained data from counter-terrorism authorities in Pakistan and Pakistan’s postal service. Pakistan’s embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.

Some of the promises to clients might have been sales bluster. In one discussion, an employee asked: “Are customers deceiving us, or are we deceiving customers?” The worker continues that deceiving customers about the company’s abilities is “normal, but it is not good for the company to deceive its employees”.

Mei Danowski, a China cybersecurity expert and author of the Natto Thoughts newsletter, said: “We think about [Chinese hackers] as ‘Oh, the state gives them cash to do stuff.’ In reality, if these leaked documents are true, it’s not like that. They have to go and look for business. They have to build up a reputation.”

Other chat logs were strikingly mundane. Employees discussed Covid-19 and the financial pressures at I-Soon. “Originally, everyone knew that the company was having a hard time, and they all understood. After all, the epidemic is so severe,” wrote one worker in March 2021. But, they complained, I-Soon “didn’t say they wouldn’t pay us wages”.

By the following year, the pressures at the company seemed to have intensified. The chief executive, Wu Haibo, who uses the pseudonym Shutd0wn, said that the loss of core staff had dented customers’ confidence, leading to a loss of business. Wu did not respond to a request for comment.

“The boss is really anxious,” wrote one employee in September 2022. “I don’t know if the company can survive until the end of the year.” In another chat log, workers spoke about the company’s poor sales and a souring mood in the office. One employee turned to a universal solace: “I’ll probably scream if I can’t have a drink.”

Chinese police work in Kiribati as Beijing expands Pacific security ties to counter US influence

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3252940/chinese-police-work-kiribati-beijing-expands-pacific-security-ties-counter-us-influence?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean neighbour of Hawaii, with uniformed officers involved in community policing and a crime database programme, Kiribati officials said.

Kiribati has not publicly announced the policing deal with China, which comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific Islands in an intensifying rivalry with the United States.

Kiribati, a nation of 115,000 residents, is considered strategic despite being small, as it is relatively close to Hawaii and controls one of the biggest exclusive economic zones in the world, covering more than 3.5 million square kilometres (1.35 million square miles) of the Pacific. It hosts a Japanese satellite tracking station.

Kiribati’s acting police commissioner Eeri Aritiera said the Chinese police on the island work with local police, but there was no Chinese police station in Kiribati.

“The Chinese police delegation team work with the Kiribati Police Service – to assist on community policing programme and martial arts (tai chi) kung fu, and IT department assisting our crime database programme,” he said in an email.

US’ funding deadlock may pave the way for more Chinese influence in the Pacific

China’s embassy in Kiribati did not respond to a request for comment on the role of its police. In a January social media post, the embassy named the leader of “the Chinese police station in Kiribati”.

Aritiera, who attended a December meeting between China’s public security minister Wang Xiaohong and several Pacific Islands police officials in Beijing, said Kiribati had requested China’s policing help in 2022.

Up to a dozen uniformed Chinese police arrived last year on a six-month rotation.

“They only provide the service that the Kiribati Police Service needs or request,” Aritiera said.

The Kiribati president’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

China’s efforts to strike a region-wide security and trade deal in the region, where it is a major infrastructure lender, were rejected by the Pacific Islands Forum in 2022.

However, Chinese police have deployed in the Solomon Islands since 2022, after the two nations signed a secret security pact criticised by Washington and Canberra as undermining regional stability.

Australian National University’s Pacific expert Graeme Smith said China was seeking to extend its reach over the Chinese diaspora, and police were “very useful eyes and ears” abroad.

“It is about extraterritorial control,” he said. Chinese police would also “have eyes on Kiribati’s domestic politics and its diplomatic partners”.

Aritiera said the Chinese police were not involved in security for Chinese citizens on the island, and a Chinese embassy source denied there was a Chinese police station.

China’s ambassador to Australia said last month that China had a strategy to form policing ties with Pacific Island countries to help maintain social order and this should not cause Australia anxiety.

Kiribati switched ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, with President Taneti Maamau encouraging Chinese investment in infrastructure. It will hold a national election this year.

Can US focus on Asia-Pacific while distracted by Ukraine, Middle East conflicts?

China built a large embassy on the main island and sent agricultural and medical teams. It also announced plans to rebuild a World War Two US military airstrip on Kiribati’s Kanton Island, prompting concern in Washington. The airstrip has not been built.

At its closest point, Kiribati’s Kiritimati island is 2,160km (1,340 miles) south of Honolulu.

The US countered with a pledge in October to upgrade the wharf on Kanton Island, a former US military base, and said it wants to open an embassy in Kiribati.

Director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Programme, Meg Keen, said China had security ambitions in the region.

“Australia and the United States are concerned about that prospect, in Kiribati and around the region, and are taking measures to protect their position,” she said.

Papua New Guinea, the biggest Pacific Island nation, said this month it would not accept a Chinese offer of police help and surveillance technology, after news it was negotiating a policing deal with China prompted criticism from traditional security partners, the US and Australia.

Chinese and US astronomers make lunar history in collaboration to study the moon, the Milky Way and the universe

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252923/chinese-and-us-astronomers-make-lunar-history-collaboration-study-moon-milky-way-and-universe?utm_source=rss_feed

Scientists from China and the United States will be making joint astronomical observations on the moon following the landing of the first US-made spacecraft on the lunar surface in half a century.

Researchers at the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) in Beijing have been invited to use two imaging cameras on board Odysseus, a commercial lunar lander built by Texas-based Intuitive Machines, which touched down near the moon’s south pole at 6.23pm Eastern Time on Thursday.

The cameras will be used by the researchers to study various astronomical bodies, including the centre of the Milky Way.

The collaboration is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between NAOC and the Hawaii-based non-profit International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) back in 2012, which allowed Hawaiian astronomers to use an ultraviolet telescope on China’s Chang’e 3 moon lander to capture images of the Pinwheel galaxy from the moon’s surface for the first time two years later.

“ILOA was honoured to have participated in the first China-America cooperation on the moon with a Chinese instrument. Now we are pleased to announce the plan to reciprocate on the long-standing Memorandum of Understanding,” ILOA founding director Steve Durst said.

“We believe this project will be the first China-America cooperation on the moon with a North American instrument,” Durst said in a release on Thursday.

NAOC astronomer Zheng Yongchun said he was sincerely happy for ILOA.

“I know they have been working on this project for years, and that they encountered many difficulties along the way as a non-government organisation. Now, it’s wonderful to see them score a major, substantive victory.”

“Any success in lunar exploration is worth celebrating, because the moon does not belong to any country but to all mankind,” Zheng told the Post.

Zheng’s colleague Xue Suijian, who was a driving force behind the signing of the NAOC-ILOA agreement, said he still remembered watching the landing of Chang’e 3 with Durst at NAOC a decade ago.

Now, watching the landing of Odysseus online from his home in Beijing, Xue said he would like to congratulate the US for returning to the moon after more than 50 years.

“I believe the cameras on Odysseus will bring us exciting news very soon. We look forward very much to working with ILOA again, for galactic surveys and more,” he said.

The 0.6kg imaging suite on the US lander, known as ILO-X and developed by a Canadian company named Canadensys Aerospace, contains a wide field-of-view camera as well as a narrow field one. It aims to operate for one lunar day, or 14 Earth days, as it observes the universe, Earth and the environment near the landing site.

US-China space race fuelled by lunar landings and orbital ‘parking spots’

As a precursor to ILOA’s coming flagship moon observatory ILO-1, ILO-X will also test some of the key technologies to be used on the ILO-1, according to Durst.

Results from NAOC observations with ILO-X, as well as those from about 10 other invited observatories, will be presented at an international forum organised by the Hawaiian non-profit to take place in Hainan in December, Durst said.

The 15mm-diameter lunar ultraviolet telescope on board Chang’e 3 is the world’s first long-term astronomical observatory on the lunar surface. It is still working, after a decade of monitoring stars and conducting sky surveys.

Last Thursday, Odysseus was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The mission, known as Intuitive Machines-1, is part of Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

Nasa is banned to collaborate directly with China under the so-called Wolf Amendment, a law passed by the US Congress in 2011 and named after then-Republican senator Frank Wolf.

As a private, non-profit enterprise, ILOA also signed an MOU with China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory last year for potential collaborations on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

The ILRS is an initiative led by China and Russia to build a base at the lunar south pole within the next decade for research and resource utilisation. It is often seen as a rival to the US-led Artemis programme.

China’s stealth military device, Singapore’s grant for Taylor Swift, Hong Kong talent scheme earners: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252924/chinas-stealth-military-device-singapores-grant-taylor-swift-hong-kong-talent-scheme-earners-scmps-7?utm_source=rss_feed

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

A team of scientists and engineers in China claim to have developed a new-generation plasma stealth device that can make almost any military aircraft vanish from a radar screen.

The median monthly income of professionals recruited under Hong Kong’s leading talent admission scheme is HK$50,000 (US$6,390), more than double what locals are earning, the city’s leader has revealed.

Singapore’s decision to pay American pop star Taylor Swift a grant to perform in the city state allegedly on an exclusivity clause has divided online users.

China’s electric car market is No 1 in the world but factory findings by health authorities around the country have now shed light on the lesser-known health impact of the rapidly developing industry.

A proposal by the Malaysian government to seek Unesco heritage status for a cluster of “New Villages” in Selangor has sparked heated debate between the Malay and Chinese communities over whose culture is pre-eminent in a country where historical racial wounds are still festering.

A Hong Kong employer has been sued for damages and is asked to pay more than HK$580,000 (US$74,155) in compensation for depriving her late Filipino domestic helper of food and firing her after her cancer diagnosis, a court has heard.

Recent research suggests a drug more than 200 million people worldwide take for their heart health might prevent dementia, or delay its progress.

In jab at China, US development official touts ‘big-hearted’ aid rooted in cooperation, ‘not debt traps’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3252906/jab-china-us-development-official-touts-big-hearted-aid-rooted-cooperation-not-debt-traps?utm_source=rss_feed

American development aid officials sought to portray the US as “big-hearted” and “open for business” in a pitch to curb China’s sway in developing countries at a think tank conference in Washington on Thursday about Beijing’s role in the Global South.

The US International Development Finance Corporation “is open for business,” said Naz El-Khatib, a policy official at the agency, launched in 2019 to bankroll international infrastructure projects.

The private sector had a crucial role to play in advancing the US’s development goals, El-Khatib added, stressing that the agency could offer a wide range of financial products directly to companies.

Speaking at the same Atlantic Council event about China’s role in the Global South, Michael Schiffer of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) made clear the agency was not seeking to “weaponise” its development aid for its own benefit.

Schiffer invoked South Korea as an example of mutually beneficial engagement, noting how USAID helped it integrate into the global economy following the Korean war.

USAID pursues “a big-hearted development model”, explained Schiffer, “rooted in cooperation and economic, trade integration and connectivity, not debt traps or never-ending foreign assistance dependence”.

Schiffer’s comments amounted to an indirect jab at China, which has been criticised for “debt-trap diplomacy” – leaving countries saddled with loans they cannot afford.

The remarks came as Washington seeks to deepen its foothold in Asia, where it is a dominant military power but struggles to match China’s economic leverage through investments made as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy plan: the Belt and Road Initiative.

China resets relations with belt and road partners through green investment push

Under the initiative, begun in 2013, Beijing has spent more than US$1 trillion on infrastructure projects around the world.

A report released in November by AidData, a university research lab at William & Mary in Virginia, found that Washington was closing the overseas development spending gap but that China may be better equipped to lead in the long run.

Beijing’s financial pledges under the Belt and Road Initiative have become more modest as it confronts domestic economic woes. Yet less infrastructure lending does not mean strategic contraction, observers have noted.

Recently China is shifting away from large-scale projects to smaller, strategic ones, and implementing more safeguards to avoid both debt fallouts and political backlash.

Italy to terminate China belt and road agreement, ending G7 involvement

As for Washington, it should tell its development story better to reduce the political risk for businesses aspiring to invest in developing countries, according to Simon Littlewood of management consulting firm SDG Global Group.

“Sometimes the US is tying its packages too much to a set of political philosophies that don’t necessarily match the country it is operating in,” Littlewood said on Thursday.

In countries where his company operates, there has been “huge resistance” to the feeling that the US is trying to impose its culture on them, he added.

Chinese business leader urges Beijing to ‘let common sense prevail’ amid private sector struggles

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3252878/chinese-business-leader-urges-beijing-let-common-sense-prevail-amid-private-sector-struggles?utm_source=rss_feed

A prominent business leader has called on China’s leadership to respect market rules, improve relations with enterprises and safeguard the nation’s business environment – echoing areas of widespread concern as a recovery in the nation’s embattled private sector continues to lag behind that of state-owned peers.

Michael Yu Minhong, founder of New Oriental Education & Technology, one of China’s largest private education conglomerates, made the blunt appeal as he addressed this year’s Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum in the northernmost province of Heilongjiang on Wednesday.

“The government has to respect market economy rules, let common sense prevail and redress the relations between authorities and entrepreneurs, and then local economies will take off,” said Yu, whose company’s market value plunged after Beijing’s abrupt crackdown on the tutoring industry that started in 2021.

China’s foreign firms fear golden era over as Beijing aims to ‘solidify control’

The Yabuli forum is one of the most influential business organisations in China. It was founded in 2001 and meets annually to exchange ideas.

“History has proven that the right support for entrepreneurs will always pay off,” said the tycoon who saw his wealth shrink from a high of US$4.4 billion to an estimated US$2.5 billion, according to Forbes. Less than a year after the tutoring crackdown, Yu embraced live-streaming to sell goods online.

Confidence among China’s private firms remains worrisome despite the national economy’s 5.2 per cent growth in 2023 and new policy support that Beijing announced last summer, including a dedicated private economy bureau.

Beijing is keen on shoring up the private sector as China’s economic recovery remains uneven. On Wednesday, justice minister He Rong chaired a round-table discussion to solicit opinions for new legislation to promote the private economy.

Investment by the private sector, which accounts for most new jobs and 60 per cent of China’s gross domestic product, slipped in 2023 by 0.4 per cent, year on year. Industrial output of private manufacturers rose by 3.1 per cent last year, trailing the 5 per cent growth among state players.

Rui Meng, a professor with the China Europe International Business School, said that “Yu’s words represent the private sector’s expectations of the government.”

When “respect and understanding” are emphasised, he said, “the government won’t intervene when it shouldn’t, and will instead devote its efforts to ensuring the legality and fairness of business activities”.

“In this way, investors and entrepreneurs can focus on their business rather than worrying about possible risks or problems,” Rui said.

China’s new regulator promises predictability amid waning investor confidence

Policy unpredictability, slow reform progress, a protracted property sector downturn and the lingering effects from Beijing’s clampdowns on sectors such as tutoring and gaming in recent years still weigh heavily on the economic outlook for 2024. Entrepreneurs often cite such uncertainties and hurdles when putting new investments on hold or pausing expansion plans.

“Numerous [private] businesses are struggling to stay afloat,” Yu told the room of private entrepreneurs and local government cadres attending the forum. However, he added that they would “keep faith in the Chinese economy”.

He said government support for businesses should not include officials overstepping in the market, and that such support must be based on market rules and not be restrictive.

Yu added that the bottom line of a good business environment must be robustly defended. To that end, he also praised Heilongjiang’s recent campaign to weed out those seen sabotaging pro-business endeavours, and he supported its efforts to purge the local business environment of irregularities that include arbitrary charges and fines.

China officials dump salt on food at village banquet to mark baby’s first haircut in bid to clamp down on excessive spending in rural areas

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3251650/china-officials-dump-salt-food-village-banquet-mark-babys-first-haircut-bid-clamp-down-excessive?utm_source=rss_feed

A deputy town chief in southwestern China disrupted a recent “hair-shaving celebration” for a village baby by pouring salt all over the feast, igniting a heated discussion about tradition versus ostentatious displays of wealth.

A “hair-shaving celebration” is a tradition in which a family celebrates their baby’s first haircut and wishes the child good fortune.

Traditionally, the hair is used to make a brush as a keepsake, representing aspirations for the child’s future academic success.

However, in recent years, the celebration has evolved into a culture of extravagant feasting, and it has become an excuse for social competition and indirect profiteering in the local community.

The incident, on January 30, took place in the southwestern province of Guizhou when the deputy town chief of Xiaohai town, surnamed Zhao, and several other village officials attempted to halt a celebration.

Video filming caught the officials initially attempting to dissuade the villagers from proceeding with the celebration, but after that failed, they each grabbed a bag of salt and aggressively poured it over the freshly cooked dishes, laughing as they did so.

In response, the Weining county government issued a statement on January 31 stating that the involved officials had been severely reprimanded and had apologised to the villagers.

“The Xiaohai Town Party Committee and government take this matter seriously. The involved officials have been criticised and educated, and they have been asked to make a profound self-examination. They apologised to the villagers on January 31 and were forgiven,” the statement said.

“Moving forward, our county will strengthen publicity efforts to guide the public to consciously resist outdated and bad practices, and to establish a new civil culture,” it added.

Online opinions were divided about the reaction to the banquet.

Some argued that the local culture necessitates intervention, while others criticised the response of officials.

One person said: “At first, I didn’t understand why they did this. Then, I looked up how outrageous the local banquets can be.”

“The banquets are everywhere, focusing on collecting red envelopes, which leaves the elderly unable to save money. This behaviour must be stopped,” another agreed.

“The methods of the officials were indeed improper. The food was already prepared and it shouldn’t have been wasted by pouring salt over it. Instead, the host should be asked to return all the red envelopes given as gifts and let the guests eat for free,” said a third.

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Is EU ‘living in the past’ as it mulls sanctions on Indian, Chinese firms exporting to Russia?

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3252855/eu-living-past-it-mulls-sanctions-indian-chinese-firms-exporting-russia?utm_source=rss_feed

In recent weeks and months, a commentary that has gained prominence has been about whether India is the next growth story after China.

Estimates differ as to what extent, but most agree that the South Asian nation’s market promises to be the next best thing. Therefore, I was surprised to read that the European Union may slap sanctions on Chinese and Indian firms’ export of electronics to Russia.

That the move is being mulled two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems intriguing. All the more so, because the EU has been pursuing a free-trade agreement with India and has this week begun a seventh round of talks.

Therefore, the disconnect between the two things appears bizarre.

India, China ‘enjoy the discount’ on Russian oil as EU tightens price cap

It is no secret that both India and China have been purchasing discounted Russian crude oil that was offered to them since the start of the Ukraine war. Western powers have in particular been displeased about New Delhi’s purchases because they see India as an ally, and its neutral stance on the conflict has often been questioned.

India’s purchases of crude from Russia – which account for around a third of its total imports – have been redirected towards processing of refined oil products by Indian refiners, who then export substantial quantities to Europe.

Some of the exports have suffered this year due to attacks on ships in the Red Sea that is a vital route between Asia and Europe. However, exports have continued.

“India’s ascent as an oil product exporter beyond its usual core Asian markets is intrinsically linked to it starting to buy discounted Russian crude. The main reason for this is simple – discounted feedstock for refineries creates a competitive advantage that other refiners (buying crude at market levels) don’t have,” says Viktor Katona, crude oil analyst at data and analytics company Kpler.

Surely, European buyers would be aware that a chunk of India’s oil products are of Russian origin. Therefore, sanctioning only Indian and Chinese firms is illogical without examining its own backyard.

An Indian trade executive says European representatives typically try to take a dominant position during trade negotiations, and therefore the sanctions move coinciding with talks for a free-trade agreement is not surprising.

Consider for a moment what is on the table.

The EU’s demands include removing trade barriers for smaller European firms, opening up services and the Indian public procurement market, investment guarantees and environmental compliance as it is set to roll out carbon emission tariffs.

Importers into the EU will eventually have to purchase certificates to cover emissions to put foreign producers on a par with European firms – a move that could advance carbon neutrality, but has provoked disquiet among Asian producers of steel, cement and other commodities because it could impose a crushing cost burden if imposed hastily.

One of New Delhi’s key demands is the migration of professionals – which is not the same as emigration, but the ability to provide professional services that are vital to sectors like information technology.

India has recently reached trade agreements with Australia, Mauritius and is on the verge of signing a deal with the UK. New Delhi wants to dispel the notion that it is a closed economy, which has hampered foreign investments, and is likely to be keen on a deal with the EU.

Like it or not, migrants rich and poor will shape our economic futures

But it is clear that a lot of give and take will be required to achieve fruition and that the sanctions, albeit on individual firms, will only raise a jarring note and reinforce perceptions of inequality.

“It has to be an equal partnership and win-win for both. The EU seems to be living in the past and thinks that such threats can help. You must find a landing zone,” says TS Vishwanath, principal adviser at ASL-Legal and a trade analyst.

If pressuring Russia is the aim, past sanctions have achieved little, and targeting third parties in Asia is likely to serve the EU’s purpose even less. Therefore, it would be best to find a way to work around the sanctions without punishing third parties.

Wisdom dictates that a path to peace should be found with India and China’s leverage over Russia. For the EU to put the bite on market participants in Asia’s growth engines may only muddy the waters further, with two years into the Ukraine war.

China can learn from Russia to beat Western sanctions as ‘de-risking’ pressures mount, foreign affairs expert says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3252889/china-can-learn-russia-beat-western-sanctions-de-risking-pressures-mount-says-foreign-affairs-expert?utm_source=rss_feed

Russia’s success in rising above Western sanctions through de-dollarisation and shoring up trade partners can be a valuable lesson for China as pressure mounts over “de-risking”, according to a Chinese international relations specialist who once worked at an institute that advises the central government.

“Russia has provided us many precious experiences that we can learn from to deal with financial and economic sanctions in the future,” said Ding Yifan, formerly the deputy director of the Institute of World Development under the State Council’s Development Research Centre, at a seminar in Beijing on Wednesday.

Despite the war in Ukraine and mounting sanctions, the Russian economy grew by 3.6 per cent last year, beating analysts’ expectations and marking a significant rebound from 2022, when its gross domestic product contracted by 2.1 per cent.

Sink or swim: China watches on as Russia’s economy battles Western sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last month that his country had become Europe’s biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity.

Ding’s assessment comes as the war in Ukraine enters its third year with no end in sight.

Soon after the war began in 2022, the US and its key allies imposed unprecedented export controls, financial sanctions and oil price caps on Russia.

They also banned Russian banks from using global financial messaging system Swift, short for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, freezing hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian central bank assets and curbing the flow of military technology to Moscow.

But the Russian economy did not crash as the West expected. Instead, policymakers in Moscow quickly stepped in with a series of measures, including capital controls and monetary policy tools.

In particular, Moscow has accelerated the use of non-dollar currencies in foreign trade while steadily increasing trade with non-Western partners, which Ding said could offer “important lessons” for China.

“The non-dollar trade has supported Russia’s economic development and ensured its financial security,” Ding said.

“We would face a similar situation, especially in recent years as calls for decoupling or de-risking have mounted.”

China’s yuan replaces US dollar as ‘primary’ currency for Russia’s foreign trade

Russia’s efforts to reduce the use of the US dollar in trade appear to have offset pressure from the West, according to Russian customs service data, which showed Russia’s 2023 exports to Europe dropped by 68 per cent to US$84.9 billion, while its exports to Asia rose by 5.6 per cent to US$306.6 billion.

Russia’s trade with both China and India reached new heights, standing at US$240 billion and US$65 billion respectively.

There have been discussions among the Brics bloc of emerging markets – whose members include China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa – about increasing the use of local currency in trade between member states.

Meanwhile, Russia has ramped up its energy exports to “friendly countries”, which accounted for around 84 per cent of its total exports in 2023, according to Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak.

Ding said this highlighted the importance of stable ties with developing countries.

Ding noted that even when an overwhelming majority of countries voted in favour of a 2022 United Nations resolution demanding that Russia withdraw from Ukraine, none of the countries from the Global South joined the US-led sanctions.

“The fact that none of the non-Western countries are involved in the financial or economic sanctions against Russia has ensured that Russian trade can proceed smoothly,” Ding said. “This is an example Russia has set for us on how to keep international trade growing amid financial sanctions.”

EU blacklists Chinese firms for first time in latest Russian sanctions package

Ding said China could also learn from Russia’s economic resilience in the face of capital flight.

When the value of the rouble reached a new low in 2022, Putin did not rush to sell foreign currency from Moscow’s National Wealth Fund to defend the Russian currency, Ding noted. Rather, he required European countries to pay for Russian natural gas in roubles, which helped stabilise the currency.

Putin also ordered foreign companies leaving the Russian market to sell their assets for half of their value and pay 10 per cent of their sale proceeds to the state.

To boost its economic resilience, Russia has also stepped up efforts to draw investment from “friendly” countries, including China.

Ding said these moves have helped Russia avoid “following the playbook set by the West” and allowed it to invest more in its domestic supply chain.

“In the face of financial sanctions, the priority is to keep its supply chain safe and stable,” he said. “This is a very important message to China, too.”