• China’s military has been warned of ‘stormy seas’ ahead. What will the budget reveal?
• China dethroned as US’ top source of imports, Wang and Blinken meet in Munich, hope for AI talks: 7 reads about US-China relations
• A shop selling booze-infused ice cream is opening in Chinatown. I tried it.
• ‘Two sessions’ 2024: Chinese lawmaker urges Beijing to safeguard tech production chain to give nation a quantum edge
• China to bring down payment barriers for foreigners to revive tourism
• Xi Jinping touts China’s new-energy prowess as Joe Biden bashes its auto policies
• ‘Political manipulation and double standards’: China slams Washington’s criticism of Hong Kong’s coming national security law
• Philippines vows ‘no mercy’ against suspects in murder of Chinese nationals
• China’s low-altitude economy to hit 2 trillion yuan by 2030, maiden intercity eVTOL flight takes to the skies
• ‘Go back to China’: US woman caught on TikTok in racist rant over unleashed dog
• ‘King of Mandopop’ Jay Chou lookalike pancake vendor in China becomes top influencer, news of national flapjack tour delights 3 million fans
• China’s war on corruption doubles punishment for bribery as tough new rules take effect
• Discover where fortune cookies were invented and why most people in China have never heard of them
• China-US team creates world’s strongest titanium alloy with 3D printing technology in ‘significant breakthrough’
• China’s rural workers face bleak choice: stay in emptying villages, or move to job-scarce cities?
• China’s special envoy is again heading to Russia and Ukraine. Expectations are low
• Hong Kong property curbs scrapped, Taylor Swift deal questioned, China’s durian king: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week
• 30,000 yuan limit for duty-free? Hong Kong delegates to country’s top political advisory body propose increase to woo mainland Chinese
• Why fixing inequality is central to China’s common prosperity goal
• As Australia, China work on green tech mining, zero-sum games and geopolitical finger pointing have no place
• Chinese province invites overseas investors to link up with strategic supply chains
• Canadian influencer’s amazement at absence of fortune cookies in China restaurants triggers amusing online discussion about origins of snack
• China’s robotic dog can shoot like a pro. What is the US doing?
• US House Republicans add Pacific nations deals to bill ‘countering Communist China’
• China bolsters defence of overseas EV sales against US, EU counterpunches

China’s military has been warned of ‘stormy seas’ ahead. What will the budget reveal?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3253888/chinas-military-has-been-warned-stormy-seas-ahead-what-will-budget-reveal?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s political elite and lawmakers will gather next week for the country’s annual legislative sessions which will set budgets and lay down Beijing’s plans for the country’s economy, diplomacy, trade and military. In the third part of , Amber Wang looks at what to expect for defence at a tense time in geopolitics.

China’s military has not fought a war since a navy battle with Vietnam in 1988, but few doubt its ambition to become the world’s top fighting force.

With geopolitical tensions heating up over Taiwan and the South China Sea in recent years, President Xi Jinping has warned the People’s Liberation Army of “stormy seas” ahead, telling troops to stay loyal and be ready to fight.

The world may learn more about the latest plan for the PLA – the biggest standing army with more than 2 million soldiers – when China’s top political advisory body and the national legislature gather for the “two sessions” next week.

Thousands of politicians and representatives will attend those meetings that begin on Monday, to set budgets and plans for the economy, diplomacy, trade and defence.

Military spending will be closely watched for what it reveals about Beijing’s strategy for the PLA. Analysts expect a “moderate” budget increase in 2024 given the “more complex” international environment, even with the slowdown in the economy.

They say there is no imminent plan for war – something that could be reflected in a significant expansion in defence spending.

Instead, Beijing is expected to continue “buying time”, meaning steady growth in military spending to build up capacity so that it can achieve its goal of reunification with self-ruled Taiwan, and to narrow the military power gap with the United States.

But the budget is also expected to take into account the risk of an armed conflict triggered by something “unpredictable”, with more military encounters in the disputed South China Sea, Taiwan electing a new independence-leaning president in January, and a possible Donald Trump comeback in the US.

The PLA has a target of 2027 – the year of its centenary – to achieve its costly modernisation goals, paving the way for it to become a “world class” military power by 2049.

That initial target is not far off, yet analysts expect steady growth in defence spending to continue for the 2024 financial year, even as other militaries spend more on weapons amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Globally, military spending jumped 9 per cent to a record US$2.2 trillion in 2023, according to a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies released this month. That figure is set to rise this year given Israel’s war on Gaza, the Ukraine conflict and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese defence spending will increase but “the question is at what rate, given China’s economic slowdown”, according to Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre in Washington.

Former PLA equipment expert Fu Qianshao expected Beijing to “make a moderate adjustment” to military spending based on GDP growth.

Economic growth in China could drop to 4.6 per cent this year, down from 5.2 per cent in 2023, according to an International Monetary Fund forecast. It expected growth to decline for the next four years, citing factors including the crisis in the property sector.

China has maintained single-digit growth in its defence budget over the last eight years, including the 2023 increase of 7.2 per cent.

Analysts expect the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait to remain potential flashpoints this year, given the more frequent military run-ins and the change in leadership in Taipei when William Lai Ching-te takes power – possibly taking a more proactive approach to his predecessor – in May.

Tensions are also running high in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines over the disputed Second Thomas Shoal as well as Scarborough Shoal, where vessels from the two sides have had regular stand-offs in recent months and a collision in December.

Fu, the former PLA equipment expert, said Beijing would take “strict” measures to prevent the Philippines from taking materials to a rusting warship that was deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the late 1990s, to build a permanent structure there.

The Chinese coastguard regularly tries to block Philippine vessels from taking supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, where a small number of Filipino troops are stationed.

According to Fu, the Philippines “is far from becoming our rival because we have a strong coastguard and armed forces”.

Still, he said the risks of “unpredictable” incidents involving Chinese and US forces in the region should not be underestimated given their frequent encounters.

“If some country from outside the region ramps up provocation by sending warplanes, it’s likely to be seen as a threat to our national security,” Fu said. “It could even lead to an accidental conflict.”

Sun from the Stimson Centre said “if things continue in their current state” there may not be too much of an escalation in tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea this year.

“We might see more in the South China Sea, related to the Philippines, but it is far less critical for China,” she added.

In Taiwan, Lai’s inaugural address on May 20 will be closely watched by Beijing, which has labelled the island’s next leader as a “troublemaker”.

There have been tensions in recent weeks near Quemoy – an archipelago also known as Kinmen and controlled by Taiwan – after the deaths of two mainland Chinese fishermen whose boat capsized during a chase by the Taiwanese coastguard.

The mainland Chinese coastguard has stepped up patrols in waters near the islands, which are just a few nautical miles from the mainland city of Xiamen.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory, to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries – including its informal ally and top arms supplier the United States – do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose any attempt to change the status quo by force.

Fu said Beijing would be waiting to see if Lai makes any moves towards Taiwanese independence when he takes power.

“If he crosses the red line or shows an intent to collude with foreign forces in a way that challenges the situation of a peaceful resolution [to achieving Beijing’s reunification goal] then patrols and exercises near Taiwan will surely be strengthened,” he said.

On a range of issues, from the economy to Taiwan, Chinese leader Xi has repeatedly said that “time and momentum is on our side”. Many believe this also applies to Beijing’s assessment of China’s military playing catch-up with the US.

That includes a Beijing-based analyst who said China was “buying time” to prepare for a possible war. But the analyst, who declined to be named, said an imminent conflict was not in Beijing’s plan given the gap in military power between China and the US.

According to Fu, most of this year’s defence spending will go towards the navy and air force, as well as its rocket force, which oversees nuclear and ballistic missiles.

The PLA plans to have six aircraft carrier groups by 2035. Two aircraft carriers are already in service, while sea trials are said to be nearing for its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian.

Meanwhile, the air force is seeking to rapidly develop its capabilities in unmanned combat – something the US has also done in recent years. Chinese analysts expect more funding in this year’s defence budget to develop these advanced technologies, as well as weapons that use artificial intelligence.

China also has a powerful nuclear arsenal – US officials estimate it had more than 500 warheads as of May last year, and that it is on track for 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035.

On a possible Trump return to the White House after the November elections and what it could mean for China, Wu Xinbo, an international relations professor at Fudan University, said the former president lacked a “sense of risk management” when it came to US-Taiwan relations.

Wu also said Trump was “more adventurous in causing conflicts”.

Observers will also be watching the two sessions for any developments on the latest anti-corruption purge of military officials and what it could mean for the PLA – though Beijing is likely to be reluctant to address the issue.

Fu noted that corruption problems would have an impact on the military’s combat capabilities “so we must strengthen these anti-corruption efforts”.

Those efforts are part of a sweeping campaign driven by Xi for over a decade, with the military among those in the spotlight in recent months.

In October, Beijing abruptly removed Li Shangfu as defence minister without explanation after just seven months in the job. He has also been removed from the Central Military Commission ahead of the two sessions.

And nine generals – including top commanders from the rocket force – were ousted from the legislature in December, with the National People’s Congress later saying they were suspected of “violations of discipline and the law” – usually a euphemism for corruption.

Ely Ratner, US assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, has speculated that high-level corruption in the PLA could have an impact on its capabilities.

“I think it should give China’s leadership pause about how deep and how systemic that corruption runs,” Ratner said earlier this month. “And to what degree this very advanced military is going to work when they need, and frankly are they ready?”

China dethroned as US’ top source of imports, Wang and Blinken meet in Munich, hope for AI talks: 7 reads about US-China relations

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3253801/china-dethroned-us-top-source-imports-wang-and-blinken-meet-munich-hope-ai-talks-7-reads-about-us?utm_source=rss_feed

We have selected seven of the biggest and most important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider in our spring flash sale.

In February, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met at the Munich Security Conference. The “candid and constructive discussion” came amid a relative thaw in bilateral ties. The talks touched on US concerns about stability in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, as well as China’s perceived support of Russia in the Ukraine war, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Read the full story here.

Late in January, a US senator’s grilling of TikTok’s Singaporean boss on his nationality and links to China’s Communist Party left his countrymen angry. Two weeks later, the island’s top envoy in Washington suggested the line of questioning went too far and could tarnish perceptions of the US. Singapore’s ambassador to the US, Lui Tuck Yew, said an interrogation like that “can sometimes possibly undermine the image and understanding of how the US is viewed in different parts of the world, not just in Asia and not necessarily only in Singapore”.

Read the full story here.

Amid a push to tighten a long-time trade rule, Chinese companies like Temu and Shein are flourishing, as parcels surpass a quarter of a trillion dollars in value annually. The century-old American trade provision known as the de minimis rule allows companies to ship packages worth under US$800 stateside without paying import duties, taxes or fees, or undergoing tedious screening procedures. US critics claim the rule has given Chinese e-commerce platforms and sellers an unfair advantage and squeezed out American retailers. “How the de minimis rule might change will be a critical issue to watch in 2024,” said Sheng Lu of the University of Delaware.

Read the full story here.

In February, China was dethroned as the United States’ top source of imports after a 17-year run. In 2023, Mexico outpaced China in terms of the total value of goods shipped to the US, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Tariffs in place since Donald Trump’s presidency have hit direct shipments from China hard, and geopolitical frictions have clouded relations between the world’s two countries. Data showed that total US imports from China last year reached US$427.2 billion, falling by 20.3 per cent compared to 2022.

Read the full story here.

In a rare spot of good news for US-China diplomacy, it seems that there is “hope” for US-China talks on regulating artificial intelligence, according to Xiaomeng Lu, who is involved with the countries’ “Track 2” AI talks. “The common threat to the US and China these days is what AI can unleash, let’s say nuclear weapons, like a nuclear missile,” Lu said. “That’s a very dangerous threshold.” But it remains to be seen whether the countries – or their massive militaries – will see eye to eye.

Read the full story here.

A US congressional panel monitoring China called for more restrictions on the American financial industry’s ties to the country after it emerged that five VC firms had invested heavily in Chinese technology. The investments included over US$1 billion in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company and more than US$1 billion across over 150 semiconductor companies, including over US$50 million to the partially state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.

Read the full story here.

The US and China are picking up the pieces of their relationship in sectors like military dialogue and policing narcotics traffic, following years of tension. One overlooked aspect of the otherwise strained relationship is also easing – agricultural trade between the world’s two biggest economies. US farmers are seeing sales to China picking up and hoping for more. “There’s genuine interest on both sides to try to reset the relationship and, you know, hopefully improve things a little bit,” Grant Kimberley, marketing director at the Iowa Soybean Association, said.

Read the full story here.

Also from the Post’s US correspondents

China has spent the last two years investing heavily in Latin America, with a particular focus on major infrastructure and exploitation of natural resources. But as China’s economy slows and some belt and road projects stumble on the continent, things appear to be changing. New data suggests that Chinese money is now flowing to smaller, more strategic projects, where there is less room for “very impactful error”, and in line with Beijing’s interests.

Read the full story here.

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A shop selling booze-infused ice cream is opening in Chinatown. I tried it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/01/tipsy-scoop-ice-cream-dc-review/2024-02-29T14:52:04.572Z

The ambiance at Tipsy Scoop, a new Chinatown ice cream shop, is intoxicating. Splashes of glittery pink and orange swirl across the acrylic floor. A mural on the wall shows the Capitol building crowned with sprinkles. Tiny cardboard cherry blossoms poke out of perfectly round, pale pink scoops of ice cream.

And, my friends, there is actual booze. In just about every bite.

The shop is D.C.’s first “ice cream barlour,” a franchise of the New York-born Tipsy Scoop, which will open two blocks from Capital One Arena on March 2 and offer eight alcoholic flavors of ice cream and sorbet, including a D.C. signature, Cherry Blossom Old Fashioned, made with Hatozaki Finest Japanese whisky. Other flavors include Cake Batter Vodka Martini, Spiked Mint Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Bean Bourbon.

And, yes, you must be at least 21 to partake in the alcohol-infused scoops, though it will also serve four nonalcoholic flavors.

Like its original New York storefronts, the D.C. location will also offer ice cream cocktails — think a root beer float, but with liquor — as well as regular cocktails, flights, sundaes, takeaway pints and ice cream cakes (though you have to order the cakes at least five days before pickup). One scoop will go for $6.50, with cocktails and flights selling for $16 each, sundaes for $18 and a pint for $16.50. It will also offer beer, wine and hard seltzer in the event you’d like to skip the ice cream altogether.

I got to taste a few of these flavors while chatting with franchise co-owner Danielle Hatchett, who switched between our conversation and moving boxes in preparation for opening day, instructing her employees and troubleshooting the payment system. First up was the D.C. exclusive, Cherry Blossom Old Fashioned — what better way to ring in cherry blossom season? After the initial hit of whisky, I found the flavor somewhat reminiscent of the mixed berry-flavored yogurt tubes my mom would stash in the freezer as a healthier alternative to ice cream. That is to say, it was comfortingly nostalgic with enough of a kick to remind me that I am, in fact, an adult.

Next I tried the towering Tequila Sunrise sundae, which Hatchett expects to be one of her bestsellers. The sundae is stacked with alternating layers of mango margarita and strawberry white sangria sorbets, topped with strawberry syrup, an orange wheel and a smiling sun-shaped lollipop. (Warning: Please don’t let your kids see this towering treat — they will definitely want a bite.)

As I watched the sundae come together, I recalled my experience at Crazy Mason in Alexandria — yet another hulking serving of ice cream I would not be able to finish. Indeed, I made it through only about 1½ scoops of sorbet before I had to tap out, but the flavors were appropriately sunny and sweet, reflecting the tropical drinks they were inspired by.

Hatchett, who had been a bartender (and therefore built my sundae with an expert hand), was already considering opening a bar when she learned about Tipsy Scoop. She had been living in Atlanta, writing a business plan, she says, but worried about high costs and poor profit margins. Then, by algorithmically contrived chance, she watched a TikTok video of someone from Tipsy Scoop’s New York shop emptying a bottle of liquor into a machine, mixing in cream and sugar that was transformed into glossy, glorious, spiked ice cream. She instantly adored the idea.

A few months later, she saw an advertisement that the same New York-based “barlour” was looking to expand to D.C. and searching for franchise owners. Hatchett’s mother, Stacy, who works for the Department of Defense, already had a home in the area. Hatchett enlisted her mother as partner and moved to Maryland in October. Since then, she says, preparations have been moving at light speed.

The mother-daughter team-up proved uniquely challenging. Since August, Stacy has been deployed to the East African nation of Djibouti, meaning the two live in almost opposite time zones. Djibouti is eight hours ahead of D.C., so Danielle says the two can typically speak for only about an hour a day. The complications have meant that Danielle has to make business decisions on her own and tour potential locations solo. Still, the duo found time to work together. “My mom and I are close — we’re like sisters,” says Hatchett. “We have high standards for ourselves. I think it’s perfect because we’re on the same page.”

Tipsy Scoop will host ticketed sundae- and cocktail-making classes, where you can learn how to mix up boozy concoctions. Tickets will be available for purchase through its website and Facebook page. At its Saturday opening, the first 25 people in line will receive a free scoop of ice cream, and the rest of the day will include a host of events and giveaways, including for the 50th and 100th customers.

“I’m expecting a long line,” Hatchett says, smiling.

As for me? Well, I might not have stumbled out tipsy (in fact, I had to go back to work). But I did walk away happy.

Tipsy Scoop, 675 I St. NW. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 2 to 10 p.m.; closed Monday.

‘Two sessions’ 2024: Chinese lawmaker urges Beijing to safeguard tech production chain to give nation a quantum edge

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3253846/two-sessions-2024-chinese-lawmaker-urges-beijing-safeguard-tech-production-chain-give-nation-quantum?utm_source=rss_feed

A leading quantum computing scientist and Chinese lawmaker is urging Beijing to buttress the technology’s industrial chains to help the country catch up and remain competitive in cutthroat global competition.

Guo Guoping, a deputy to China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), said in an interview with the official Science and Technology Daily on Thursday his proposal would focus on breaking through the West’s technological containment in core realms as well as developing China’s own manufacturing chains.

“Building an independent industry chain for the sector has become one of China’s top priorities,” he was quoted as saying.

Guo is a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in the southeastern province of Anhui and a key figure in China’s quantum computing technology leadership.

His proposal comes in the lead-up to the start next week of the annual “two sessions”, a gathering of legislators and political advisers in Beijing.

He said the development of quantum computers had entered a new stage where foreign institutions and companies were putting great effort into engineering and industrial applications in addition to conducting research in the laboratory.

Guo is also the founder of Origin Quantum, a major player in the advancement of quantum computing technology in China.

Since its establishment in 2017, the company has announced many achievements. Its Origin Wukong quantum computer – China’s latest and most advanced programmable and deliverable machine of its kind – was opened to global users in January.

Quantum computing is seen as a disruptive technology. It uses elementary particles called qubits, short for quantum bits, as its basic unit of information – equivalent to the digital bits used in traditional computing.

The ‘two sessions’: what to watch for during China’s biggest political event of the year

China and the United States are among major world powers racing to be No 1 in using the key technology, which has the potential to transform many fields, including healthcare, finance and data security.

Despite making significant progress, Guo said China’s quantum computing still faced hurdles in terms of technological self-sufficiency and industrialisation.

In an article published in September on a website run by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, Guo said China should step up research into core hardware and software technology, including those dominated by Western countries, such as dilution refrigerators and quantum processors.

For example, the production of dilution refrigerators – equipment used to create ultra-low temperatures for quantum computing – is mainly controlled by companies from Finland, Britain and the US, which together account for 70 per cent of the market.

Guo also acknowledged the nature of the gap between China and the West in the industrial application of quantum computing. “There is a decoupling between research and applications,” he wrote, noting that China’s R&D costs for quantum computing were high, but that there was a lack of robust market demand to drive the research.

Guo proposed that from computing power layout to quantum chip production, authorities should carry out medium and long-term strategic planning to promote industrial growth, such as boosting financial investment and nurturing talent.

A quantum scientist and manager of a Wuhan-based start-up in the field agreed on the need for state-level industrial support policies and investment while the technology was in its infancy and on the eve of widespread practical application.

The researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that support should be comprehensive, covering universities, research institutes and companies developing quantum computing, and from upstream to downstream in the industrial chain.

This scale of government support was given to China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry. Since the launch of its first New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan in 2008, a range of policies such as nationwide vehicle subsidies, helped China become the world’s largest EV producer with extensive supply chains.

“As quantum technologies become more mature and production scales up, the supply chains for quantum devices will become an increasingly important policy issue,” said Edward Parker, a physicist at the California-based think tank Rand Corporation and lead author of a report on quantum technology published in February 2023.

‘Two sessions’ 2024: China signals more fiscal pump-priming amid economic doubts

But quantum computing is still a fledgling field, with teams around the world using different physical approaches – including superconducting, photonic and neutral atomic pathways – to develop a quantum computer.

This can pose a challenge in the development of supply chains as the industry has yet to consolidate around a single approach, according to Parker.

The Chinese researcher said that, in such circumstances, it was wise for Beijing to strengthen supply chains for different approaches to reduce risk rather than bet on a particular strategy.

China to bring down payment barriers for foreigners to revive tourism

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253897/china-bring-down-payment-barriers-foreigners-revive-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese authorities are easing limits on mobile payments for foreigners and encouraging tourist attractions to accept cash and overseas bank cards in a bid to revive international visitor numbers.

The central bank said on Friday that foreigners would be able to spend up to US$5,000 on a single mobile payment transaction, up from the previous US$1,000 limit.

The annual mobile payment ceiling for foreigners would rise from US$10,000 to US$50,000, putting them on a par with Chinese nationals, according to the People’s Bank of China.

Major tourist attractions across the country will upgrade payment facilities to accept the range of transaction methods, from mobile payments, to bank cards, and cash.

Hotels, restaurants, retailers, public transport and taxis must also accept cards and cash, and foreign currency exchange services will be improved.

“We want to share with foreign friends the mobile payment method that we Chinese like the most, while respecting their habit of making large payments via bank cards,” PBOC deputy governor Zhang Qingsong said.

Zhang added that cash payments must be accepted, and Chinese banks and financial institutions were encouraged to allow foreigners to open accounts.

“We encourage current payment methods, future payment methods and traditional payment methods to develop in parallel and complement each other,” Zhang said.

China pledges further steps to make payment apps easier for foreigners to use

China has become a largely cashless society, with mobile payments the most common daily transaction method among China’s some 940 million mobile internet users.

Mobile devices are used to pay for everything from groceries to holidays. Few businesses accept international cards, and many no longer keep change for cash transactions.

But this has been a barrier for foreigners, who are locked out of Chinese mobile payment platforms by Beijing’s rigid financial and data control laws and have to rely on cash and foreign bank cards.

To address the problem and stimulate tourism, the central bank and various ministries have established working groups to make payments more convenient for foreign travellers.

Major Chinese mobile payment operators, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, have been instructed to accept more cards issued by foreign banks and simplify users’ identity verification process.

“We will give guidance to the payment operators … so that mobile payment, which is widely used by Chinese people, can work and work well with foreigners, and our foreign friends will be happy and willing to use it,” Zhang said, adding that the central bank would strengthen their risk control over transactions.

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Xi Jinping touts China’s new-energy prowess as Joe Biden bashes its auto policies

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253862/xi-jinping-touts-chinas-new-energy-prowess-joe-biden-bashes-its-auto-policies?utm_source=rss_feed

Even as the rapidly rising strength and pace of China’s new-energy exports have provoked international scrutiny and a degree of green protectionism, President Xi Jinping has big ambitions to push the sector’s boundaries, seeing it as a hi-tech tonic to invigorate economic growth.

During a study session of the 24-member Politburo on Thursday, China’s leader also vowed to further tap the strategic industry’s potential while boasting its international competitiveness.

His comments came just ahead of leadership’s biggest political event of the year, the “two sessions” parliamentary gatherings. Policy advisers and lawmakers will convene on Monday to discuss critical economic matters, unveil the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) target for 2024, and reflect on potential countermeasures to Western containment efforts.

“China now leads the world in many new-energy technologies and in equipment manufacturing levels, and it has built the world’s largest clean-power-supply system,” Xi said, according to party mouthpiece Xinhua.

China’s US$28 billion overseas EV investment holding a charge despite backlash

“As new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have also formed strong competition in the international market, we now have a good foundation for new-energy development,” Xi added.

However, he said, “we should also recognise that China’s energy development still faces a series of challenges, including significant demand pressure, various supply constraints, and the daunting task of transitioning to green and low-carbon energy”.

“[We should] strive to be at the frontier of energy science and technology in the world, with a focus on key areas and major energy needs, and choose technology routes reasonably,” he said.

He further called for collaborative efforts on critical core technologies in new energy and the application of research results, with an aim to cultivate energy technology and its related industries into a new growth point that will drive the upgrading of China’s industries and promote quality productivity.

Beijing has acknowledged the outsized threats from external headwinds, with more geopolitical manoeuvring potentially in the pipeline with respect to overcapacity concerns, anti-subsidy probes and national security concerns.

Following the European Commission’s decision to launch an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles in October, US President Joe Biden on Thursday warned of the potential risks posed by Chinese automobiles.

“China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security,” he said in a statement on the White House’s official website, adding that he was taking “unprecedented actions to ensure that cars on US roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security”.

In addressing the Politburo, Xi highlighted the need for the country to coordinate the high-quality development of new energy with ongoing energy-security reforms. Xi has previously flagged “prominent problems in the oil and gas system”.

He also reiterated the importance of faster infrastructure construction to meet the needs of China’s new-energy transition, and this includes smart power grids that can accept clean energy and a charging infrastructure network that can support the expansion of electric vehicle use.

The fresh highlight came as the world’s second-largest economy has been fostering a shift toward green expansions, to the point that they were among the few bright spots amid economic setbacks that have persisted since last year.

The value of exports of “new three products”- electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells – rose by 29.9 per cent in 2023 from a year earlier to 1.06 trillion yuan (US$147.4 billion), customs data showed.

State power: Xi calls for firmer government hand in China’s energy, railways

The production of new-energy vehicles surged to 9.443 million units in 2023, a 30.3 per cent increase compared with 2022, while solar cell production soared by 54 per cent to 540 million kilowatts, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The country’s electricity generated from clean energy sources was around 32 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2023, up 7.8 per cent, year on year.

“We need to promote cooperation in the new-energy industry chain in an orderly manner and build a new win-win model for the green-energy and low-carbon transformation,” Xi said.

“[We should] deeply participate in the reform of international energy governance and promote the establishment of a fair, just, balanced and inclusive global energy governance system.”

‘Political manipulation and double standards’: China slams Washington’s criticism of Hong Kong’s coming national security law

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3253861/political-manipulation-and-double-standards-china-slams-washingtons-criticism-hong-kongs-coming?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s foreign ministry on Friday slammed Washington for its “political manipulation and hypocritical double standards” after it said “vaguely defined provisions” of Hong Kong’s domestic national security legislation would undermine the “one country, two systems” framework.

Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rebutted the statement issued by the United States on Thursday about the city’s public consultation for the new legislation, which is mandated under Article 23 of the Basic Law and set to sit alongside the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law.

“China expresses strong disapproval and firm objection to the relevant US statement,” she said. “It is the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong SAR to complete the legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law and plug the loopholes in safeguarding national security.

“It is also an inevitable requirement to achieve long-term peace and stability in Hong Kong and the long-term stability of ‘one country, two systems’ [governing principle].”

She criticised the US for its “political manipulation and hypocritical double standards,” saying it “threw dirty water and labelled” the city’s legislation while having many national security laws itself.

The US State Department said it was “particularly concerned” by the proposal to adopt “broad and vague definitions” of “state secrets” and “external interference”, which could be used to “eliminate dissent through the fear of arrest and detention”.

The city government had earlier said the remarks were “biased and misleading”.

On Wednesday, authorities in the city ended a month-long public consultation for the proposed legislation designed to target five new types of offences – treason, insurrection and sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage and external interference.

US concerned over ‘broad and vague’ definitions in Hong Kong security law

The government said that 98.6 per cent of the 13,147 submissions “made positive comments”, with 93 opinions opposing the new law. It said the figures showed public consensus for the legislation to be completed as soon as possible.

A commentary article published by Xinhua news agency on Thursday praised the consultation for being “organised in a scientific and orderly fashion” and served well the purpose of “enhancing understanding, in-depth deliberation, offering assurances, and strengthening confidence”.

“This is an open, transparent, high-quality and efficient public consultation,” the commentary said, adding “everyone has said that the Article 23 legislation must be enacted as soon as possible” to pave the way for stability and promote economic growth.

The commentary singled out the proposed sedition offence as an example, saying that city officials stated clearly that there was “no problem as long as it is legitimate criticism based on facts”.

The article also said it was “no surprise” that “anti-China elements” and “external forces with ulterior motives” had tried to discredit and block the legislation efforts.

“But they are at the end of their rope and can only repeat clichés in different approaches, such as the Article 23 legislation will ‘restrict freedom’, ‘undermine human rights’ and ‘destroy prosperity’,” the article added.

“Knowledgeable people from all walks of life in Hong Kong and the world have recognised the sinister intentions of external forces to interfere in the city’s affairs, and will no longer be deceived and incited by them.”

Commentaries by the same author, “Gangaoping”, have all been reposted on the official website of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

His previous article was about the latest “inspection” visit by office director Xia Baolong, listing out statistics to illustrate Hong Kong’s appeal for doing business and calling negative comments about the city’s prospects “a lie”.

Hong Kong’s Article 23 security law needs public interest defence: lawyers

Chambers and professional organisations in the city have mostly indicated support for the legislation in principle while voicing concerns about the consultation document’s vague and broad definitions, such as those relating to the offences involving “state secrets” and “external forces”.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce urged clarity on “state secrets” and more information on the scope of excluded activities for the offence, as it was concerned that “broad, general” provisions open to different interpretations might not provide certainty for businesses to know what they have to do to comply.

In a 129-page position paper, the Hong Kong Bar Association expressed concern about the “commercial implications” of definitions of “state secrets” that only relate to Hong Kong affairs, and noted the proposed criteria for “external forces” were so broad that they could catch any Hong Kong resident visiting another jurisdiction.

The British government has also argued that the consultation document’s “vague references” to external forces and the new offence of external interference might threaten legitimate and lawful diplomatic and consular activity as protected in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Philippines vows ‘no mercy’ against suspects in murder of Chinese nationals

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3253827/philippines-vows-no-mercy-against-suspects-murder-chinese-nationals?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines has vowed to pursue a watertight case against the suspects in the killing of six Chinese nationals who were abducted from their home in a luxury residential enclave in Metro Manila last year.

The Department of Justice said Edgar Catapang Abarca, Eduardo Catapang Abarca and John Oliver Villanueva would be indicted on multiple charges including kidnapping and homicide.

Last October, the men barged into the victims’ house that also included three of their local employees in Muntinlupa City and blindfolded the occupants before bundling them into a getaway van.

The perpetrators freed the Filipinos a day after the incident and ordered them not to reveal it to police, but they eventually reported the kidnapping to the authorities, sparking a law enforcement blitz.

Police arrested the suspects with the help of CCTV footage and have since recovered the bodies of the four Chinese on Luzon island while two others – a woman and her child – are still missing.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla pledged to bring the suspects to justice, calling on prosecutors to file an “airtight” case against the trio.

“Show no mercy in prosecuting those behind these senseless crimes,” Remulla said.

Cosme Abrenica, who heads the anti-kidnapping wing of the national police, said the two men and two women died of suffocation.

“We did not find any wounds, either from gunshot or stabbing, from the victims. From our investigation, they were likely killed by covering their faces or they were choked,” Abrenica told local media last November.

He added the suspects did not demand a ransom, which was “unusual” in cases involving Chinese captives.

Abrenica also said 20 kidnappings were reported to his department in the first 10 months of 2023, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Philippine lawmakers renew calls to ban offshore gambling operators

Most of the abductions of Chinese nationals in the past were linked to Philippine offshore gambling operators (Pogos), where they had been employed.

The sector emerged in the Southeast Asian nation in 2016 and grew exponentially, as companies capitalised on Manila’s liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned.

At their peak, Pogos had more than 300,000 Chinese workers, but the pandemic, higher taxes and government crackdown have forced many to operate elsewhere.

Beijing has repeatedly warned Chinese nationals not to work in Pogos in the Philippines, which have brought a spate of crime, including cryptocurrency scam, kidnapping and murder.

The Philippines in 2022 stopped the operations of 175 Pogos and deported about 40,000 Chinese workers as part of efforts to rein in the industry, which delivers 190 billion pesos (US$3.2 billion) to the economy each year.

China’s low-altitude economy to hit 2 trillion yuan by 2030, maiden intercity eVTOL flight takes to the skies

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253831/chinas-low-altitude-economy-hit-2-trillion-yuan-2030-maiden-intercity-evtol-flight-takes-skies?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s low-altitude economy – having been made a priority by Beijing – is expected to reach 2 trillion yuan (US$278 billion) by 2030, with this week’s unmanned maiden intercity electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flight representing the latest milestone for the burgeoning sector.

The sector exceeded 500 billion yuan last year, Han Jun, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said on Thursday.

Han also said that the Chinese civil aviation authority planned to collaborate with local governments to construct civil airports and temporary eVTOL landing sites.

Beijing listed the low-altitude economy as one of the strategic emerging industries at the tone-setting central economic work conference in December.

It is seeking to obtain the lead in the burgeoning global low-altitude economy, which refers to a wide-ranging industry revolving around manned and unmanned civil aviation vehicles usually operating below an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,281 feet), and its activities could include passenger transport, cargo delivery and other operational tasks.

On Tuesday, a five-seater Prosperity aircraft, developed by AutoFlight, cut the travel time between the southern cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai by two thirds after completing the flight in 20 minutes, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The aircraft, which has yet to receive its airworthiness certificate, is expected to commence passenger flights in 2026, easing intercity travel and enriching business connections within the Greater Bay Area, the broadcaster added.

“Replacing labour with machinery is an important task that China is aiming to achieve amid the declining birth rate, pushing it to gain an upper hand globally in the development of drones and eVTOLs,” said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform.

“Along with its recent breakthroughs in domestic large aircraft, China can easily apply these accumulated experiences to its low-altitude economic sector,” he added, referring to China’s home-grown C919 narrowbody passenger jet.

Guangzhou, the capital city of the southern Chinese economic powerhouse of Guangdong, is an industry leader for low-altitude economy research and development, with Shenzhen home to leading drone makers including DJI.

In late December, an unmanned passenger drone manufactured by Guangzhou-based firm EHang completed its first commercial flight demonstration after being granted the world’s first type and airworthiness certificate by the CAAC.

However, Peng expressed concerns over potential sanctions as Washington has hardened scrutiny of Chinese industries on national security grounds.

“China should prepare for this scenario,” he added.

Ready for launch: China’s low-altitude economy could add US$700 billion by 2025

Beijing has been pushing for the use of eVTOLs and drones in agricultural crop inspection, medical emergencies, inter and cross-city cargo transport, firefighting and tourism.

By the end of last year, China had nearly 20,000 operational drone companies, with 1.267 million registered drones, representing a 32.2 per cent increase from 2022.

Drones have been deployed in new sectors, including electric power line inspection, geographical surveying and mapping, meteorological detection and communication relays, Han added.

The comprehensive contribution of the low-altitude industry to China’s economy would reach between 3 trillion yuan and 5 trillion yuan by 2025, the International Digital Economy Academy, a government-backed research institution in Shenzhen, estimated in November.

‘Go back to China’: US woman caught on TikTok in racist rant over unleashed dog

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3253840/go-back-china-us-woman-caught-tiktok-racist-rant-over-unleashed-dog?utm_source=rss_feed

A dispute between two women over an unleashed dog on the Westside of Los Angeles took on racist tones when the woman whose dog was off leash told her Asian neighbour to “go back to China,” according to a TikTok video that has already generated more than 6 million views.

The white woman with the unleashed dog, Denise Olin, was caught in the video hurling racially charged remarks during the February 24 fight with her neighbour after the other woman, who was walking a leashed dog, asked Olin to put her dog on a leash. Los Angeles laws require dogs to be on a leash on public property and common areas of private property.

Olin has since told the Los Angeles Times she regrets her comments.

The two women, who appear to have a history of conflict, began recording each other during the encounter.

“Let me educate you,” says the woman recording the video, who is identified through her TikTok account only as Cindy.

“Let me educate you, go back to China,” says Olin, who is also recording the incident on her phone.

Is anti-Asian racism still a problem in US? Poll reveals 2023 trends

“I don’t want your dog to get hurt,” Cindy says.

When Cindy calls Olin a “Karen,” Olin responds, “You’re an Asian Karen.”

At another point in the interaction, Olin repeatedly asks Cindy if she understands English.

Olin claims in the video that Cindy once referred to her as a “bitch” and that the woman is the “most hated woman on our block.” She also said the woman told Olin to go back to her country. Olin is Irish.

Cindy denies the claim and says Olin fabricated the story.

“Everybody hates you,” Olin says.

The incident took place on Butler Avenue in the upscale neighbourhood of Sawtelle.

Olin apologised for her words Thursday in a text message to The Times and said she has received death threats since the video was published on TikTok on Monday.

“I’m devastated and receiving so many death threats,” Olin texted. “The police are involved. I’m so sorry for what I said. I reacted badly. It was our second altercation, and she had said similar stuff to me. I had not filmed it. There was no excuse for what I said. I’m so remorseful. I’m not a racist, just stupid.”

Olin shared with The Times a voicemail she had received in which someone said they would have shot her in the face if she had made such comments to them.

Cindy’s video has 6.8 million views on TikTok. She could not immediately be reached.

Racism, LGBTQ rights, privacy? Rise in US study apps causing concern

“I am Asian, but I am not from China,” Cindy wrote on her TikTok post.

“I am an immigrant, but my family and I have been living in America for more than 20 years. This is our home. It deeply hurts me that there are still people out there making such racist remarks.”

The video is reminiscent of a similar incident in New York in 2020 in which a woman called the police on a Black man in Central Park after he asked her to put her dog on a leash.

The woman, Amy Cooper, lost her job in the aftermath of that viral video.

“Over three years later, I am still in hiding. I am scared to be in public,” Cooper wrote in an op-ed late last year.

‘King of Mandopop’ Jay Chou lookalike pancake vendor in China becomes top influencer, news of national flapjack tour delights 3 million fans

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3253340/king-mandopop-jay-chou-lookalike-pancake-vendor-china-becomes-top-influencer-news-national-flapjack?utm_source=rss_feed

A street food vendor in China has attracted 3 million followers on mainland social media because he looks like the “King of Mandopop” Jay Chou.

Bai Xianying, 43, went viral online in 2020 after a customer posted a video of him with one of the star’s songs playing in the background.

The video changed the life of a man who had been selling stuffed pancakes in a small town in northern China’s Hebei province since 2015.

Online observers nicknamed him “Zhou Binglun”, a play on Jay Chou’s Chinese name which translates into “porridge and pancake Jay”.

They also turned his clothing and expressions into puns using the names of 45-year-old Chou’s songs.

Despite his new-found fame, Bai continued his street food business, and did not become an impersonator like others who perform Chou’s songs for a living.

Last September, the food vendor went viral online again after an increasing number of people thronged to the town where he had his stall to post videos of him.

They were impressed that Bai did not appear to have allowed all the attention to go to his head, but remained down-to-earth.

Like Chou, Bai now goes on national tours from time to time, but to sell pancakes not pop songs.

His pop-up shops always have a long line of customers waiting, and some fans even offer to pick him up at airports.

Online observers who compare the two men, say they respect the vendor more because he has stuck to his original career, whereas the singer has been accused by some of becoming distracted and losing focus.

Last December, Jay Chou released a new song, Christmas Star, which was met with harsh online comments, such as “he has lost his talent”.

Chou was productive from his debut in 2000 to 2016, before shifting his attention to his family and art collection.

His most recent album, Greatest Works of Art, was released in 2022, six years after the previous one.

Famous lookalikes frequently enjoy online popularity in China.

One was an eight-year-old boy who looked like Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Another was thought to be the Chinese double of Elon Musk, but was discovered to be using deepfake technology to make himself look like the tech billionaire.

China’s war on corruption doubles punishment for bribery as tough new rules take effect

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3253843/chinas-war-corruption-doubles-punishment-bribery-tough-new-rules-take-effect?utm_source=rss_feed

China on Friday began handing down harsher punishment to people found guilty of offering bribes, as changes to the criminal law took effect.

Under the amendments, representatives from companies or other entities found guilty of paying bribes now face 10 years in prison – up from the current maximum of five-years imprisonment.

People found guilty of repeatedly paying bribes could face life imprisonment, and confiscation of their properties. Previously, the law did not clearly define what actions could lead to tougher penalties.

Heads still rolling as China’s anti-corruption drive enters second decade

Senior officials from China’s top legislative body, courts, procuratorate and the public security ministry have pledged to improve their implementation of the amended law, which imposes heavier penalties on those who pay bribes. Their remarks were published in a state media report on Friday.

In July, draft revisions to the law were submitted for deliberation to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislature. After two readings, the revisions were approved in late December.

The revisions, which were intended to target both those who offer bribes and those who accept them, were part of Beijing’s attempts to craft a more comprehensive approach to stamping out corruption.

The amendments to seven provisions in the criminal law specify heavier penalties that could be handed to repeat offenders, people found guilty of paying bribes to multiple people, and to those who bribe state employees. Representatives from companies or entities found guilty of paying bribes could also face increased maximum prison terms.

Xu Yongan, deputy head of the Criminal Law Office at the Legislative Affairs Commission, said the amended law brought “another important revision” based on the ninth Criminal Law Amendment passed in 2015 under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive, which boosted penalties for bribery.

Xu told state media that offering bribes is the root cause of bribery and “an important source of pollution in the political ecology”.

According to the state media report, Ma Yan, an official from the Supreme People’s Court, said that the top court is also working with the top prosecutors on a judicial interpretation to guide a “comprehensive, correct and effective” implementation of the law in line with the new revisions.

China’s anti-corruption watchdog says it targeted 110,000 officials last year

Gao Jingfeng, who heads the Law and Policy Research Office of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, said prosecutors will update their “concepts” of law enforcement and strengthen investigations.

Gao said the agencies will “firmly abandon the cognitive bias” that focused more on people taking bribes and neglected to probe the people offering bribes. Prosecutors will step up efforts to prevent corruption, with more attention on business compliance and increasing public legal awareness, Gao said.

China’s public security agencies are also working with prosecutors to provide more support for enforcement, according to Sun Ping, an official with the Ministry of Public Security.

Cases that involve private companies will also get more attention to ensure protocols are followed, Sun said, according to the report.

China’s anti-corruption drive erases US$9 billion in value from healthcare stocks

The tougher new penalties also apply to people who pay bribes related to major construction projects, personnel appointments, law enforcement and judicial matters.

The new amendments also cover offences that violate environmental protection, financial rules, production safety, food and medicine regulations, disaster prevention and relief, social security, and education and healthcare.

Discover where fortune cookies were invented and why most people in China have never heard of them

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3253337/discover-where-fortune-cookies-were-invented-and-why-most-people-china-have-never-heard-them?utm_source=rss_feed

While dining at a Chinese restaurant in the West, you may well receive a familiar dessert after settling the bill, a fortune cookie.

The crisp, folded wafer contains a piece of paper with a brief, usually encouraging, message.

As the supervillain from the film Iron Man, the Mandarin, said: “A true story about fortune cookies. They look Chinese. They sound Chinese. But they’re actually an American invention.”

He was half correct. They are certainly not Chinese, but they are also not American.

Fortune cookies did not originate in China. Some say their roots are Western, but others take a different view.

Dating back to the 19th century, the Japanese cookie Tsujiura Senbei wedges a paper slip into the bend of the cookie rather than placing it inside the hollow interior.

It closely resembles today’s fortune cookie and serves as a precursor to the later adaptation.

Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese-born American landscape designer, is reported to have been the first person in the US to serve the modern version of the fortune cookie at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco in the late 1890s or early 1900s.

However, David Jung, the founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, also claimed that he invented the fortune cookie in 1918, a claim that led to a legal dispute in San Francisco in 1983.

A court ruled in favour of Hagiwara.

An amusing aside is that during the proceedings, lawyers introduced a fortune cookie as evidence, it contained the message: “SF Judge who rules for LA Not Very Smart Cookie”.

Despite the ruling, half a dozen companies and families with long ties to the area claim their ancestors invented the snack.

The production of fortune cookies shifted to Chinese Americans during World War II when Japanese Americans were ostracised during the war and forced into internment camps, allowing the former to popularise the confection.

Where to find them

Fortune cookies are served in Chinese restaurants worldwide, but not in China.

Approximately three billion fortune cookies are made globally each year, the majority of which are consumed in the US, according to The New York Times.

Surprisingly, they are seldom found in China, primarily because they are not inherently Chinese. There is not even a universally recognised Chinese equivalent word for the English term “fortune cookies”.

What are they?

A crisp, sugary cookie wafer made of flour, sugar, and vanilla and contains a piece of paper with a message. It is typically served as a dessert along with the bill.

Customers often find themselves more intrigued by the short, proverbial messages inside these cookies than the desert itself.

These messages, focusing on luck, happiness, or inspiration, always offer a light-hearted forecast or thought-provoking predictions.

A fortune cookie with no message inside is considered good luck.

China-US team creates world’s strongest titanium alloy with 3D printing technology in ‘significant breakthrough’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3253774/china-us-team-creates-worlds-strongest-titanium-alloy-3d-printing-technology-significant?utm_source=rss_feed

Scientists have made a groundbreaking advancement in 3D printing technology for a titanium alloy, doubling the material’s resilience and broadening prospects for its applications in the aerospace sector.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) hailed the achievement – detailed in a study published by the journal Nature on Wednesday – as a “significant breakthrough” in material science.

The research was a collaboration between Zhang Zhenjun and Zhang Zhefeng, from the CAS Institute of Metal Research’s Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, and Robert Ritchie from the University of California, Berkeley.

According to the peer-reviewed paper, the study was conceived in China and the sample material was also produced there. Ritchie took part in the reviewing process for the manuscript.

While 3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing (AM) – has revolutionised manufacturing, the process has been of limited use for making components that require a high level of fatigue tolerance.

Chinese scientists develop cutting-edge tech for 3D ceramic printing in the air

Metal 3D printing uses lasers to melt metal powder and accumulate it into specific, complex shapes with reduced preparation cycles – perfect for the rapid fabrication of large, intricate items.

However, the high heat generated by powerful laser beams typically used in printing often leads to the formation of gas pores within the parts which in turn compromise the alloy’s performance.

These microvoids can serve as focal points for stress concentration, initiating cracks prematurely and facilitating their propagation, thereby diminishing the material’s fatigue life.

To address this, the researchers set out to produce a titanium alloy free of pores. They developed a process using Ti-6Al-4V, a titanium-aluminium-vanadium alloy, achieving the highest fatigue tolerance among all titanium alloys to date.

“Our theory posited that ideally, alloys printed under perfect conditions should exhibit superior fatigue performance,” said Zhang Zhenjun in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

“Achieving this objective appeared straightforward at first glance. Yet, the simplicity of the task was deceptive. Techniques currently employed to eliminate gas pores often result in a coarsened internal structure of the alloy,” he said.

“Addressing this issue without reintroducing pores or other adverse effects proved challenging. We developed a new technique called Net-AM processing which prints at high temperatures.”

According to Zhang, the process begins with hot isostatic pressing to eliminate gas pores, followed by rapid cooling before any alteration to the internal structure of the alloy can occur.

Using this process yielded a pore-free alloy with a 106 per cent improvement in tensile fatigue strength – from the traditional 475 MPa to 978 MPa – a world record.

“This achievement holds great promise for industries demanding lightweight materials, such as aerospace and new energy vehicles,” Zhang said.

How 3D printing is helping resurrect a century-old village in rural China

So far, the material has only been produced at a sample scale, in a dumbbell shape with the thinnest section measuring 3mm (about 0.118 in), which is too small for most real-life applications.

While the technology is still in the experimental phase, it already has great application prospects, according to Zhang.

“Thicker sections would face heat transfer limitations during processing. Nonetheless, this advancement is sufficient for the fabrication of many thinner, complex devices,” he said.

According to the CAS website, many aviation parts – including Nasa’s rocket nozzles, the support frames of China’s J-20 fighter jet, and the fuel nozzles of the Chinese C919 aircraft – have been made using 3D printing technology.

With future scaling up, the technology could be poised for widespread industrial application but whether its development will continue to attract international collaboration is yet to be seen.

Cooperation between China and the US tends to be rare once a technology has developed sufficiently to be applied to more specific military or aerospace uses.

Zhang said that in addition to the team’s achievement, “this study also inspires some new research directions for current AM technology”.

“The viewpoint that void-free AM microstructures have exceptionally high fatigue resistance should apply not only to Ti alloys but also be extended to other metallic material systems”.

China’s rural workers face bleak choice: stay in emptying villages, or move to job-scarce cities?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253791/chinas-rural-workers-face-bleak-choice-stay-emptying-villages-or-move-job-scarce-cities?utm_source=rss_feed

Many of China’s rural residents, who for years sought middle-class prosperity by becoming urban migrants, now feel trapped between two unenviable choices – stay in villages with insufficient resources, or move to population centres with dour employment prospects – a no-win situation which threatens to impede the country’s plans for rural revitalisation and its efforts to narrow the lifestyle gap.

Though it has brought benefits, China’s rapid urbanisation has also led to pressing issues in rural areas, including insufficient access to care for the elderly, rising divorce rates and declining fertility, according to a survey by Wuhan University.

The research, conducted in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the social media platform Weibo, was based on data collected from 115,000 residents – 34,000 rural and 81,000 urban – over the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

“China is currently undergoing an unprecedented urban-rural integration,” the report said, pointing to an increasing number of farmers buying homes and cars in cities and the popularity of online shopping in rural areas brought on by the development of digital infrastructure.

Two-thirds of the Chinese population lived in cities last year compared to 40 per cent two decades ago, government data showed.

“However, due to a mismatch between household income and expenditures,” said the Wuhan University researchers, “an urbanised lifestyle in rural areas is facing a dilemmatic trap, a pseudo-middle-class life.”

Rural residents are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain a high-quality life, as evidenced by a pronounced “hollowing out” of villages, authors warned.

Around 74 per cent of those surveyed said fewer than 60 per cent of people in their villages chose to remain, and 30 per cent said their villages were seeing less than 30 per cent inhabitancy.

“This implies that within a natural village, a significant number of farming households have their doors closed year-round, with nobody at home. The main workforce is employed outside the village, children are attending schools elsewhere and the elderly have passed away,” the report said.

For those who chose to leave their homes behind, the cities they moved to have not been havens of opportunity, either – 43 per cent of villagers reported shrinking job opportunities in urban areas.

“Rural households have become increasingly fragile, facing heightened pressure due to the high cost of urbanised lifestyles,” the report said, also raising concerns about the climbing divorce rate and declining fertility.

Around one-third of rural respondents observed a rise in divorces in their communities, and nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted only one child or none.

The falling birth rate is one of several dilemmas plaguing the demography of the world’s second-largest economy, along with rapid ageing and a shrinking labour force. All are expected to be discussed at the annual parliamentary meetings starting next week, commonly known as the “two sessions”.

“Compared to the younger population, elderly residents in rural areas are on the fringes of the urban-rural lifestyle evolution,” the report said.

In cities, the dominant method of senior care remains children looking after their elderly parents. Self-care only represents around 18 per cent of respondents there, while the proportion of self-care jumped to nearly 40 per cent among those in the countryside.

“As a result, ensuring their living conditions, particularly by providing stable agricultural income, is crucial,” the researchers remarked.

Beijing released guidelines on boosting the “silver economy” – building or tweaking industries to serve the needs of the aged – in January to address its fast-greying population, with 15.4 per cent aged 65 and above by the end of last year.

A previous government target was to help two million elderly households renovate their living facilities for greater convenience from 2021 to 2025.

China’s special envoy is again heading to Russia and Ukraine. Expectations are low

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3253711/chinas-special-envoy-again-heading-russia-and-ukraine-expectations-are-low?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs is heading off on another “shuttle diplomacy tour” to push for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, but observers say expectations are low.

Li Hui will travel to Russia, Ukraine and the European Union headquarters in Brussels during the trip, which begins on Saturday. He will also visit Poland, Germany and France.

It is Li’s second peace mission to the region after a visit in May last year that did not make any immediate progress.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said the trip was aimed at “building consensus to stop the war and to pave the way for peace talks”. She said China was willing to take a “unique” role in peace efforts.

Two years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of people have been killed and there is no end to the war in sight.

Ukraine, running low on ammunition and soldiers, in February lost its stronghold of Avdiivka to the Russians, and Western allies are struggling to keep on top of their promised military support to Ukraine.

Meanwhile in Russia, soaring government spending on the military offensive in Ukraine has driven economic growth despite the US-led sanctions imposed on the country since the start of the war.

Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said war fatigue could create possibilities to negotiate a ceasefire. “However, those negotiations will depend on the situation on the battlefield,” he said.

Chinese, Russian diplomats talk security, Ukraine as war enters third year

Beijing has sought to portray itself as neutral and a peacemaker in the conflict. But it has drawn criticism for its close ties with Moscow and refusal to condemn the Russian offensive, and the European Union has warned China against aiding Russia’s war effort or undermining sanctions against it.

Li Lifan, a Russia specialist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the special envoy’s trip could also be part of Beijing’s efforts to improve ties with Europe.

That includes a tour by President Xi Jinping this year. Serbian leader Alexander Vucic this week said Xi would visit his country, making it the first confirmed stop on the Europe trip.

According to Li Lifan, China could propose some changes to its approach to mediation during Li Hui’s trip as well as “respond to the complaints made by European countries”.

But he said the future of the war depends on Moscow and Kyiv, “rather than being subject to the influence of a third country”.

Justyna Szczudlik, a China analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs, said Li’s tour was “not real mediation” but “part of the ‘smile diplomacy’ or ‘charm offensive’”.

Li has largely stayed out of the spotlight since has last tour to Europe a month after he was appointed to head China’s peacemaking efforts. He was absent from most global peace conferences on Ukraine in the past year, including a June meeting in Copenhagen and the Malta summit in October.

“Li Hui’s unexpected reappearance a few days after the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not to mediate, but to try to improve his image in Europe, given the upcoming European Parliament elections, the upcoming inauguration of Lai Ching-te as Taiwan’s president, ahead of the US presidential election,” Szczudlik said.

Li did attend a summit in Saudi Arabia in August, presenting a vague and ambiguous 12-point plan released by China in February last year that calls for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war.

“China may also feel that this is a good time for Beijing to show its goodwill when it comes to Ukraine, as the situation on the battlefield is not very favourable for Ukraine,” Szczudlik said.

“However, China is trying to present Europe with a beautiful package/box without changing its real contents.”

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Hong Kong property curbs scrapped, Taylor Swift deal questioned, China’s durian king: SCMP’s 7 highlights of the week

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3253753/hong-kong-property-curbs-scrapped-taylor-swift-deal-questioned-chinas-durian-king-scmps-7-highlights?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 .

During his budget speech, Hong Kong finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po said the city would remove all restrictions on property transactions as part of his solutions for the sluggish economy and shrinking fiscal reserves in what some analysts called the most difficult budget blueprint ever.

A Philippine lawmaker has called on his government to question Singapore over the city state’s decision to offer American pop star Taylor Swift a significant monetary grant, supposedly to prevent her from performing anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

China on Monday said it was “necessary” to set up a floating barrier at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, where it has had frequent flare-ups with Philippine forces.

Competition between exporters is expected to intensify in China, the world’s largest durian market, as the global crop has been projected to grow as much as 10 per cent by 2030 and voracious consumers are on the hunt for greater variety and better bargains.

China’s former foreign minister Qin Gang, who has been missing from public view since June last year, has resigned as a member of the national legislature ahead of a key political set piece event, according to an official statement.

A makeup artist in China who uses her exceptional skills to dramatically improve the appearance of her clients – in some cases make them appear many years younger – has become a major hit on mainland social media.

Travel writer Ian Lloyd Neubauer takes two overnight trains from Lhasa in Tibet to Chengdu to find out what sleeping, eating and socialising is like on the world’s busiest rail network.

30,000 yuan limit for duty-free? Hong Kong delegates to country’s top political advisory body propose increase to woo mainland Chinese

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3253708/30000-yuan-limit-duty-free-hong-kong-delegates-countrys-top-political-advisory-body-propose-increase?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong representatives to the country’s top political advisory body want mainland Chinese visitors to enjoy duty-free shopping of up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,165) instead of the current 5,000 yuan, a limit which has not changed in almost three decades.

Henry Tang Ying-yen, a Standing Committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Post the move was a key change in a joint proposal he initiated and which would be put forward by most of the city’s representatives in Beijing next week.

He said a more generous tax incentive would boost tourism and improve Hong Kong’s attractiveness to mainland spenders who had been flocking to Hainan, an island province off the country’s southern coast, for duty-free shopping.

A higher tax-free shopping limit would also complement proposals such as those to reinstate the multiple-visa scheme for people living in Shenzhen and increase the number of mainland cities whose residents may visit Hong Kong as individuals rather than in tour groups.

“The central government’s policy stipulates Hong Kong’s greater integration with the mainland, but it does not make sense not to allow more mainland people to visit the city,” said Tang, who is the chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the city’s former No 2 official.

While there were restrictions on mainlanders visiting Hong Kong, he pointed out that they could stay in Singapore for 30 days without a visa.

Hong Kong has about 200 representatives to the CPPCC and Tang said he had secured the support of about two-thirds of them to submit the joint proposal next week.

The CPPCC meeting starting on Monday is one of two annual parliamentary gatherings in Beijing referred to as the “two sessions”. The other is the National People’s Congress meeting, which opens on Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s tourism sector, which was hit hard by three years of harsh Covid-19 travel restrictions, has not recovered quickly as the city’s government hoped after pandemic measures were lifted a year ago.

The 34 million visitors last year represent just over half the record 65 million who came in 2018, and they spent differently than before, splurging less on shopping and preferring to experience the city instead. Mainlanders made up most of the visitors.

Hong Kong sets aside HK$1.09 billion in drive for more tourism events

Tang said the tax-free shopping limit of 5,000 yuan per mainland visitor for consumer goods such as cosmetics, electronic products, wine and spirits, handbags and watches had remained unchanged since 1996.

Mainlanders had more money to spend than before, as China’s average annual per capita disposable income of households jumped 14-fold since 1996 to 39,200 yuan last year.

“The 5,000 yuan tax free limit is no longer sufficient,” Tang said.

In contrast, Hainan raised its tax-free shopping limit from 5,000 yuan 13 years ago to the current 100,000 yuan per visitor per year. It also adjusted the range of products included for duty-free shopping.

To encourage visitors to spend more in Hong Kong, Tang said the CPPCC representatives were proposing that mainland visitors must stay overnight to qualify for the higher duty-free shopping benefit.

Their proposal also recommends bringing back the multiple-entry visa scheme introduced in 2009, which allowed Shenzhen residents to make an unlimited number of trips to Hong Kong.

What is the newly expanded solo traveller scheme and how will Hong Kong benefit?

It was replaced by a once-a-week visit permit in 2015 amid concerns about parallel trading and Hong Kong’s capacity to handle surges in single-day visitors.

In January, authorities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen were negotiating to bring back the multiple-entry scheme.

Most mainland visitors to Hong Kong travel in group tours as Beijing forbids most citizens from travelling on their own. Only residents of specific cities are allowed to visit the city as solo travellers.

Last week, for the first time since 2007, Beijing added two cities – Xian and Qingdao – to the list of places whose residents can make individual trips to Hong Kong, bringing the total to 51.

DBS Hong Kong economist and strategist Samuel Tse Ka-hei said the CPPCC members’ proposals, if approved, would boost the city’s tourism and related income.

“The magnitude of the impact will hinge on the mainland’s economic recovery,” he said.

China’s gross domestic product expanded by 5.2 per cent in 2023 from a year earlier, beating the official target of 5 per cent, propelled by consumption that generated 4.3 per cent to the overall growth.

Official data also showed the property sector remained a drag, contracting by about 0.6 per cent.

Why fixing inequality is central to China’s common prosperity goal

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3253341/why-fixing-inequality-central-chinas-common-prosperity-goal?utm_source=rss_feed

Last month, Panzhihua, a city in western China’s Sichuan province, announced this would be its “breakthrough” year in establishing itself as a common prosperity pilot zone. It is following the example of Zhejiang province in the east, another such pilot zone which was set up in 2021. The idea is to push for a high-quality development that focuses on closing the economic gap between regions, between urban and rural areas, and in income.

This is encouraging news, but will such efforts work? Will there be more pilot zones like these? Will China really achieve common prosperity, or is it mainly a political slogan? The truth is still emerging.

The concept of common prosperity is not new. It first appeared in 1953 during the Mao era as he pushed China towards socialist collectivisation.

Around 1979, shortly after paramount leader Deng Xiaoping had introduced economic reforms and opening up, he declared that China’s path to common prosperity would be to let some people and regions get rich first to help the rest. The term gained new significance in 2021 when President Xi Jinping vigorously promoted it as a way to guard against economic and political polarisation.

Since 1978, some people and regions have indeed become rich. China has transformed from one of the world’s poorest countries to its second-largest economy, and from a relatively equal society to one of the most unequal in the world.

China’s wealth gap exposed by lives of Covid-19 carriers in Beijing

The structural flaws inherent in China’s political system – from state-controlled capitalism to corruption – have all contributed to the problem. The top 10 per cent income share rose from 27 per cent in 1978 to 41 per cent in 2015, approaching levels seen in the United States, according to research by economist Thomas Piketty and his colleagues.

Xi clearly realises the risk of such income and wealth disparities, which could stifle growth and erode confidence in the leadership. Defining common prosperity is complicated as it has many implications and associated aspirations. In one sense, China’s pursuit of common prosperity seeks to build up the middle class so it can become more of an engine of consumption.

At the same time, China is cracking down on excessive wealth and monopolies while promoting “people-centred development”. “We must not allow the gap between rich and poor to get wider,” Xi has said.

It would be difficult to argue with him there. To achieve “common prosperity”, there must be accompanying policies. In 2021, economist George Magnus penned an article titled “Common Prosperity: More Slogan than Solution”, and he still holds that position today.

Some actions have been taken, with tech giants such as Tencent and Alibaba being pressured to make “voluntary donations” to the state. China has also held trials on property tax, which was seen as a way to help curb speculation and address social inequality.

So far, though, none of the measures taken have proven to be game changers. No fiscal or redistribution policies have taken hold, and China is struggling to achieve its goals in terms of wealth redistribution.

To give the government credit, there have been some efforts to deal with income inequality, primarily aimed at resolving extreme poverty. Official figures indicate some 800 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.

China has also made progress in fighting poverty through its , which provides a minimum living standard guarantee. Between its nationwide adoption in 2007 and 2016, some 45.8 million rural residents and 14.8 million urban residents benefited from it. Although the dibao system has helped alleviate poverty, it has failed to make a significant impact on income disparity.

China must urgently deal with this issue as the dangers of such glaring wealth disparity are increasingly clear. The country’s Gini coefficient – a measure of income inequality – has grown near 0.47 in recent years after falling from its 2008 peak. The government has not set a target for reducing this number, but Cai Fang, a member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, says it should be kept below 0.4 to achieve common prosperity.

Why China needs to mind the earnings gap

Besides reforming redistribution schemes and a regressive tax system, common prosperity demands a better social safety net for those less fortunate and more equal access to healthcare and education. Education used to be an equaliser, but now it has been made into an industry. Children from poor, rural areas stand little chance at competing with their richer urban cousins.

The privileges of state-owned enterprises should be limited, and the private sector should be allowed equal access to financial services and bank loans so it can also flourish. Carrying out those reforms will require the authorities to embrace greater liberalisation and move away from the “party leads everything” mantra – something they might hesitate to do.

Xi and other officials have criticised the phenomenon of tang ping, or lying flat, as young people reject a culture of overwork. This is hardly surprising. With social mobility in China increasingly coming to a standstill, many people see little hope of climbing the social ladder no matter how hard they try.

These young people and the millions struggling at the bottom of society need hope. The government has an obligation to create a fair, just society that encourages them to strive for a better future. An equitable society is a key feature of a socialist country, so narrowing income disparity is an absolute must.

If not, Magnus has this to say: “The political and social dangers are that people become disillusioned, frustrated, maybe even politically restive one day.” I couldn’t agree with him more.

As Australia, China work on green tech mining, zero-sum games and geopolitical finger pointing have no place

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3253684/australia-china-work-green-tech-mining-zero-sum-games-and-geopolitical-finger-pointing-have-no-place?utm_source=rss_feed

As the quarry of the world, Australia’s mining sector is crucial to its economy and its workforce, but there’s been some trouble in the sector lately.

As nickel prices plunge in what is transpiring as a price bubble burst, mines are closing and jobs are being cut.

We know it is serious when the Australian government makes a surprise move to list nickel as critical, so nickel miners can access funding otherwise earmarked for other minerals such as lithium under the A$4 billion (US$2.6 billion) Critical Minerals Facility.

As nickel prices plunge globally, Australia scrambles to save its mining sector

That may be cold comfort for the industry, mainly because it may not be enough. As an example, the cost of Australia’s first taxpayer-funded rare earth refinery through miner Iluka Resources has exceeded the original A$1.25 billion price tag to some A$1.8 billion.

This turning point in the nickel industry has triggered a few things, not least, a blame game.

Some commentators have been quick to point to China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of several of these green technology minerals, as well as its nickel protégé Indonesia for Australia’s nickel woes.

The argument is that China is trying to hurt global prices because it can. It has “monopolistic” dominance over the production of these special minerals, In nickel’s case, China and Indonesia – where there is much Chinese investment in the latter – have flooded the market with too much nickel, crimping competition.

The surge in nickel supplies is true, but it is an economic outcome rather than a geopolitical one and the factors are multifaceted, not just China-centric.

For starters, China fully cultivated the economic opportunities in critical minerals production that came its way, sometimes handed to it. Take rare earth for example.

After the US terminated rare earth production from about 1980 when it was subjected to more regulatory, disposal, and licensing rules, China took over and has since advanced the technology involved in its production so that it can make it cheaper and faster.

According to the Australia-China Relations Institute which conducted a series of research on critical minerals with the Australia China Business Council recently, China’s credentials in green technology including a large pool of talent, scale of production and importantly, improved technology and supply chains are clear to see.

Naturally, as China invests in places like Indonesia, the technology goes along and Indonesia’s production ramps up. Innovation makes production cheaper and faster, which ultimately benefits consumers.

Crucially, the nickel turning point now exposes “economic realities” for Australia when it comes to cooperation with China.

Such sensitive collaborations between Australia and China can be hard to discuss, especially given their recent bilateral skirmish and China’s economic manipulation with Australia’s exports.

But when jobs are at stake, Australia would not be faulted for being pragmatic in shoring up its industries, perhaps through “technology and capital” bundle deals in mining with China, tied up with a pretty bow of environmental preconditions.

Those concerned with China’s presence in Australia can rest assured that Australia already has the necessary mechanism in place to control foreign investments and mitigate risks to national interests. It can firm this up during contract negotiations.

Fortescue Metals chief Andrew Forrest recently said it was hard to compete with the likes of China and Indonesia that did not have to “price in” environmental responsibility.

Australia remains ‘open’ to Chinese investments as bilateral tensions ease

So, do that. Rather than see the competition as a zero-sum game, Australia and China should combine Australia’s environmental credentials in mining and China’s technology in green technology and ready capital into not just helping a much globally-needed green sector, but protecting the longevity of their industries.

Australia and China already collaborate on green technology mining deals which maintain jobs, so they can do more. Chinese company Tianqi and the US’s lithium producer Albemarle both invest in Australia’s Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia. They in turn underwrite the mine’s commercial viability by agreeing to offtake agreements that is, buying the minerals they mine.

The ship might have sailed on Australia’s nickel industry, but there’s still time to look after lithium, rare earth and many other green technology minerals. After all, in the global fight against climate change, no battle lines should be drawn.

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Chinese province invites overseas investors to link up with strategic supply chains

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3253697/chinese-province-invites-overseas-investors-link-strategic-supply-chains?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s eastern economic powerhouse of Jiangsu has become the first province to invite foreign businesses to take part in its strategic industrial chains, part of a national effort to retain and attract foreign investors.

But analysts expressed concerns over the strategy’s long-term viability as geopolitical tensions intensify.

In a fresh batch of incentives for overseas capital, Jiangsu – China’s second-largest provincial economy after Guangdong – called for overseas participation in “strengthening, supplementing, and extending industrial chains.”

“Foreign-invested enterprises are encouraged to participate in open innovation and development across the entire biopharmaceutical industry chain, and to speed up the implementation of projects,” said the Jiangsu government in a document published last week.

For major projects worth more than US$100 million, it said, land use will be prioritised and visa services will be facilitated for executives, technical personnel and other individuals from foreign-invested enterprises and multinationals.

Foreign participation in the industrial value chain has been promoted by other localities, though in those cases their intentions were signalled less explicitly.

The Guangdong government also called for foreign participation in its industrial development in a document published in March 2023.

“As Western countries exercise control over Chinese funds entering their vital supply chains for security reasons, foreign capital is also withdrawing from China,” said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank connected to the provincial government.

“Jiangsu’s initiative to encourage foreign companies to participate in these crucial supply chains carries significant symbolic weight. It represents a proactive effort to retain foreign investment.”

He added that further observation is required to determine whether this measure is a temporary stimulant or a long-term reorientation, as both sides are balancing national security and supply chain interdependence.

“If the ‘decoupling’ strategy becomes entrenched in the West, it becomes challenging to foresee the sustainability of China’s engagement policy,” Peng said.

An opaque policy environment and sluggish economic expansion have deterred foreign investors from scaling up their businesses in China, and rising geopolitical uncertainties continue to add risks to foreign trade, leading to an exodus of capital.

Confidence among China’s foreign business community has also been eroded by an increasingly volatile regulatory environment.

Despite a 74 per cent rise in the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in January, foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped 11.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 112.7 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion), the country’s Ministry of Commerce said last Friday.

China has always had a mixed outlook on foreign enterprises, granting preferential treatment for taxes and land provision but also imposing strict localisation requirements, said Xu Tianchen, senior China economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit.

CIIE 2023: Premier Li Qiang to reach out to global investors in bid to mend ties

“Going forward, China will remain a bit selective,” Xu said.

“It will woo investors into industries where it has enough sway and domestic firms are already competitive. In areas where foreign participation undermines China’s pursuit for self-sufficiency and control over supply chains, barriers will probably remain.”

He added that government incentives and the relaxation of FDI restrictions will mitigate some distrust over China’s operating environment, and participation in China’s supply chain could also be conducive to cost efficiency – as seen in the automotive sector.

On Wednesday, Premier Li Qiang assured a visiting US business group that China’s economy has huge demand potential in advanced manufacturing, urbanisation, consumption upgrade and green energy transformation, and that the country welcomes American firms to deepen their presence there.

“It is hoped that the US Chamber of Commerce and its entrepreneurs will continue to serve as a bridge in promoting communication and mutual understanding between the two countries,” Li told the delegation in Beijing, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Ministry of Commerce held a round table meeting with foreign businesses on the same day to solicit concerns and comments, especially regarding the implementation of a 24-point policy directive issued last August to optimise the business environment and promote investment.

Canadian influencer’s amazement at absence of fortune cookies in China restaurants triggers amusing online discussion about origins of snack

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3253332/canadian-influencers-amazement-absence-fortune-cookies-china-restaurants-triggers-amusing-online?utm_source=rss_feed

A Canadian female influencer embarked on an enlightenment journey in China and ended up highlighting the fact that fortune cookies are almost impossible to find on the mainland.

The influencer, known as “tandon_rebecca”, began her adventure in Shanghai in mid-January, sharing her experiences of the cultural surprises and delights which the city boasts.

She described how the journey she was making which she described had been on her bucket list since childhood.

In a video posted on February 8, she expressed her astonishment about the lack of fortune cookies.

This discovery prompted lively discussions among her international audience which consists of 40,000 followers on Instagram.

“Y’all want to know the wild thing I found out about China. We all know about the fortune cookies you get at a Chinese restaurant. It’s not a thing in China,” she said.

“I was going to every restaurant expecting to get a fortune cookie because that’s what always happens in Canada. No, it’s made up. I don’t know if it’s made up, but it’s definitely not a thing in China.

“The people here don’t even know about it. It’s only a thing in Canada, the US and Australia, I think. Is that not wild?”

The origins of the fortune cookie are hotly debated, but in 2008, the New York Times cited researchers who believed they had discovered that the cookies originated in Kyoto, Japan.

While there is no clear evidence of how the fortune cookies made it to America, they started as localised treats in California.

Makoto Hagiwara, from San Francisco, and David Jung, from Los Angeles, both claimed to have invented the fortune cookie, and a case in 1983 determined that Hagiwara had initially created the dessert.

However, half a dozen companies and families with long ties to the area claim their ancestors invented it.

What is clear is that soldiers heading for the Pacific in World War Two fell in love with the treat when they visited Los Angeles or San Francisco.

They then began to ask their local Chinese restaurants why they did not serve the biscuits. The restaurant owners adjusted, and the treat became a mainstay of North American Chinese cuisine.

The fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary wafer made from flour, sugar, and vanilla and is usually served as a dessert, famously including a small piece of paper that contains a thoughtful piece of wisdom.

Rebecca, the influencer, also shared cultural adventures like eating a Tang Hulu, a traditional Chinese candied fruit snack, noting its surprising hardness and likening it to a candy apple only much tougher.

“I feel like I need to go to the dentist because I just got a cavity from that one fruit,” she joked.

Rebecca was also captivated by some middle-aged women dancing in a public square, affectionately dubbing them NPCs, or non-performing characters, referring to video game personas that occupy the background but don’t engage with the main storyline.

In the video, she expresses a desire to share their joy: “It’s so cute to me. My new goal is to learn their choreography and join them one night.”

Her fortune cookie revelation led to a viral discussion, with her video amassing over 678,000 views and attracting more than 1,120 comments at the time of writing.

One person said: “I love the western-Chinese fortune cookie, I would eat a whole bag of them.”

While another added: “In Canada, restaurants with authentic Chinese dishes do not give fortune cookies.”

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China’s robotic dog can shoot like a pro. What is the US doing?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3253603/chinas-robotic-dog-can-shoot-pro-what-us-doing?utm_source=rss_feed

Legions of robotic dogs are being produced by China, with most of the four-legged machines being used as novelty electronic pets or for doing mundane tasks such as carrying a discus to a track and field athlete. But not all of them.

Footage released by the Chinese military through state media in recent years shows some of these dogs are being armed and put into live military exercises.

Critics dismiss the videos as propaganda, arguing that the slight build of these robots would make them ill-suited to handle the recoil of standard firearms, let alone fire with the speed and precision of a trained soldier.

Others, however, see vast potential in this emerging technology, saying it could revolutionise future warfare.

The US Marine Corps bought several units to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the Chinese-made robotic dogs last year.

And while the results of that evaluation are not available, a study by Chinese scientists suggests these robotic dogs may outshoot even seasoned troops when it comes to handling firearms.

The study “demonstrates the feasibility of a legged strike platform”, lead scientist Xu Cheng and his team wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Engineering last month.

But the US military might not have been using these dogs in the best way to achieve their full potential in battle, according to the Chinese team’s findings.

Xu is a professor of mechanical engineering with the Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He is also a vice-president of the Chinese Light Weapons Society. The university has long been sanctioned by the US due to its close ties with the Chinese military.

As part of their study, Xu’s team put a 7.62mm machine gun on a robotic dog. The gun they used was capable of firing 750 rounds per minute, though the model was not specified. The weapon also had an optoelectronic sight, shock-absorbing mount and automatic reloading system.

The robotic dog then fired 10-round bursts at a human-sized target standing 100 metres (328 feet) away.

After multiple rounds of firing, the half-dispersion radius, which is the maximum distance between the centre of the target and the five closest bullet holes, was measured to be around 5cm (2 inches).

In other words, if the robot aimed at a person’s chest, most bullets would land within the heart region, a difficult feat for machine guns which are known more for their suppressive firepower than accuracy.

By comparison, the M16 assault rifle, known for its precision, has a factory-standard half-dispersion radius of 12cm at 100 metres. Skilled shooters can halve that figure.

This technology could potentially have a significant impact on the future of warfare, according to the researchers.

“Urban warfare, encompassing anti-terrorism operations, hostage rescue missions, and the clearance of streets and buildings alike, has steadily risen to prominence as a fundamental facet of contemporary conflict,” Xu and his colleagues wrote in their paper.

“The urban landscape, with its maze of intersecting streets and towering edifices packed tightly together, poses unique challenges for unmanned combat platforms. These platforms must negotiate unstructured terrain and execute intricate actions such as manoeuvring, scaling and leaping – rendering traditional wheeled and tracked designs inadequate.

“Quadruped platforms, based on bionic principles, can use independent ground support points to provide enhanced mobility and adaptability in complex urban combat environments.”

Greying China is poised to reap a new economic dividend: robotics

Other countries have also tried to use robotic dogs in combat. As early as 2015, Boston Dynamics developed a giant quadruped robot for the US military. However, due to excessive noise and other drawbacks, the technology never went beyond the experimental stage.

Then in 2020, Boston Dynamics introduced the Spot, a civilian model priced US$70,000-US$140,000.

Meanwhile in China, initially its robotic dogs lagged behind its American counterparts in technological advancement. But that gap has narrowed considerably in recent years.

Chinese robotic dogs can now navigate stairs, perform acrobatic feats such as backflips, traverse garbage dumps or tropical rainforests, and maintain a continuous run for nearly four hours while carrying a 20kg load.

Plus, thanks to China’s burgeoning electronics industry and complete industrial chain, the price of a Chinese robotic dog has plummeted to as low as US$3,000 – less than even the US$4,000 price of a battery pack for the Spot.

But this does not mean Chinese robotic dogs are combat-ready right out of the factory.

From publicly available photos, the US military often simply straps weapons onto the robotic dogs for testing.

According to the Chinese scientists, this approach is wrong.

In the paper, Xu’s team detailed a weapon mount that is structurally simple, cost-effective and highly functional for the robotic dogs. This mount is a must because it enables the machine gun to point freely on the dog’s back while effectively absorbing recoil to minimise muzzle jump during sustained fire.

Also, as the US military bought the robot dogs from overseas, they may not fully understand their inner workings. This can bring further challenges.

Accurately predicting the physical state after firing a shot, for instance, requires modelling the gun and robotic dog as an integrated flexible system – a complex computational challenge. The high-precision motors distributed throughout the robotic dog’s body, controlled by chips, must adjust in real-time to absorb complex impacts, according to the researchers.

In China, with the support of advanced artificial intelligence technology and the drone industry, these challenging issues have been resolved. Nevertheless, Xu’s team said that there was still room for further improvement,n the current technology, such as considering the gaps between joints in the physical model, increasing the ammunition capacity beyond 100 rounds and validating the accuracy of the robotic dog’s shooting while moving.

Meanwhile an artificial intelligence scientist based in Beijing said that the foremost challenge in deploying robotic dogs for combat lies not in technology, but in ethics.

As AI technology rapidly evolves, robotic dogs’ capacity to comprehend the world and make decisions will grow rapidly, potentially crossing ethical boundaries, said the researcher who requested not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“They will soon reach a point where they can independently decide whether a human is an enemy,” he said.

“The ultimate dilemma will be whether to pull the trigger or not.”

US House Republicans add Pacific nations deals to bill ‘countering Communist China’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253738/us-house-republicans-add-pacific-nations-deals-bill-countering-communist-china?utm_source=rss_feed

House Republicans added the Compacts of Free Association (Cofa) to their newly prepared ‘countering Communist China’ bill amid a months-long delay in approving promised funds for three strategically vital US-allied Pacific island nations.

A congressional budget impasse has hindered funding for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, but that could change if the draft bill by the Republican study committee, a group of more than 150 conservative lawmakers, were to pass.

The legislation was earlier expected to be introduced in the House on Thursday. But the session was adjourned until Friday after the lawmakers voted for a short-term funding measure to avert a partial US government shutdown.

First signed in the 1980s with the three island nations, the Cofa agreements provide Washington exclusive military access to strategic swathes of the western Pacific in exchange for economic help.

Cleo Paskal, an Indo-Pacific expert, described the inclusion as an “encouraging sign that more members of Congress realise that this needs to be passed as soon as possible, whatever legislative cycle available”.

This particular bill “may or may not succeed in its current form, but just being included increases the visibility of the compacts and the chances that the compacts will be passed sooner rather than later”, she added.

In the face of China’s deepening ties in the region, US President Joe Biden last year pledged US$7.1 billion over 20 years to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau – about US$120 million a year.

However, Republicans had been asking to find that money from somewhere else in the federal budget. Earlier this month, the Senate omitted Cofa funding from its US$95 billion foreign aid package for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.

US still seeks delayed Pacific funds amid China push in region: senior diplomat

Last week, 28 Republican and 20 Democratic lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson urging him to include the Cofa pacts in the next available legislative cycle.

“They are watching to see if we will follow through on our commitments,” the letter stated, alluding to Beijing.

“Should we fail”, it added, China would “further exploit that vacuum with further intervention and disruption rather than open and lawful competition”.

The developments follow stern warnings to Washington delivered by regional leaders anxious about what a lack of funding could mean.

“Every day it is not approved plays into the hands of the CCP and the leaders here (some of whom have done ‘business’ with the PRC) who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic offers – at the cost of shifting alliances, beginning with sacrificing Taiwan,” wrote Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jnr in a letter dated February 9.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

A joint letter from the presidents of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau to US senators dated February 6 argued that their countries effectively expanded American defences across an area “larger than the 48 contiguous United States, stretching from west of Hawaii to the Philippines and Indonesia”.

‘What’s next’ as China’s Pacific island diplomatic wins mount?

The issue was also raised during an annual meeting last week between US Pacific island governors and the US deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell.

Other than finding a path to pass the Cofa pacts, the draft bill proposes to curb trade with China in sectors critical to national security, along with more stringent investment restrictions.

Republican congressman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, who chairs the study committee, has described the legislation as the “the strongest legislation against the CCP ever introduced to Congress and for good reason”.

China bolsters defence of overseas EV sales against US, EU counterpunches

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3253685/china-bolsters-defence-overseas-ev-sales-against-us-eu-counterpunches?utm_source=rss_feed

China is taking measures to defend its sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries in Europe and the United States against growing challenges to its expansion.

Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao earlier this week expressed “strong dissatisfaction” toward an ongoing European Union probe into China’s exports of EVs and related products as “an investigation that lacks factual evidence”.

His rebuke followed the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU having said last week that it would form a working group to be a “voice” for Chinese carmakers in Europe.

Also this week ahead of the “two sessions” annual parliamentary meetings, the China National Democratic Construction Association – a minor political party – said it planned to approach the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference advisory body about the EV issue, according to Chinese news agency Cailianshe.

As US, EU anxiety grows, will overcapacity curb exports of China’s ‘new three’?

The party proposed seeking mutual recognition for EV “standards” with the European Union, bolstering the intellectual property rights of Chinese firms overseas and improving trade-linked logistics.

The European Commission launched its anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese EVs last year, while the US bars its EV battery materials from China, which it deems a “foreign entity of concern”.

Chinese EV makers receive “generous government subsidies, which have helped to lower production costs”, Moody’s Analytics said earlier this month.

Western leaders see China’s giant EV industry, led by the likes of BYD and Nio, as a threat to their smaller firms.

About three quarters of the US$28.2 billion in Chinese EV value-chain investment overseas last year went to Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, as well as other parts of Asia, the Rhodium Group research organisation said in an industry outlook on Thursday.

“The EU could make regulations that pose obstacles to the sale of Chinese EVs on the European market,” said Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington. “They could also challenge Chinese EVs as a national threat.”

The Rhodium Group pointed to growing discontent overseas.

“Chinese investors are increasingly facing political backlash in host economies, most notably the US, which is trying to limit Chinese influence over its EV supply chains,” the outlook said.

And China’s protests to the EU and the chamber of commerce’s proposed measures to help Chinese firms would not ease the backlash, said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis.

“It’s not convincing,” Garcia said. “It’s not going to help unless they radically change their proposals.”

“Geopolitical” concerns about China have fused with the “overcapacity” of China’s EV supply chain to fan fears, she added.

Overcapacity in China stands to push more factory output of EVs and batteries into foreign markets at lower prices.

But Chinese EV investment abroad should “remain strong” this year as it shifts from battery investment to EV manufacturing in Europe, Latin America and around Asia, the Rhodium Group outlook added.

‘Just the beginning’: Chinese EVs face uphill path as US, EU put down roadblocks

And companies along the Chinese EV supply chain may already have a solution to the resistance in Europe, the report suggested.

A “key driver” for business this year is “host economies’ demands for higher value-added and job-creating investments in return for market access,” the outlook said.

In Finland, according to the report, Chinese lithium battery material producer Ningbo Shanshan announced investments in a plant worth US$1.35 billion, while Beijing Easpring has formed a US$844 million joint venture with Finnish Minerals Group to make battery materials.

Rhodium Group said 92 per cent of Chinese investment in EV-related industries in Europe last year went to Finland, Hungary and Sweden.

Timo Kantola, the Finnish consul general in Hong Kong, said EV battery projects favoured Finland due to the availability of some of the “rare” minerals required.

And some projects have accepted Chinese “partners and participation”, he added.

“China continues to be an input and a business partner,” Kantola said, but Finland, like other European countries, is still “looking at vulnerabilities and being aware” of China’s role.

Beijing policymakers, though, may eventually rein in the EV supply chain, the Rhodium Group said.

They are “growing concerned” about reverse technology transfers and “value-added” clean tech production moving abroad when China “urgently needs to build up new drivers for economic growth at home”, the outlook added.