• Ex-Google engineer Linwei Ding charged with stealing AI secrets to aid Chinese companies
• US can’t beat China, so it should join it in the EV revolution
• China to oppose US lawmakers’ new move forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok amid mainland tech restrictions, analysts say
• China’s ‘two sessions’: Xi Jinping tells scientists to fight the tech battle well
• South China Sea: Philippines won’t let China remove military outpost on disputed shoal, ‘these are red lines’, navy commander
• ‘Confusion’ over China’s spy laws could be deterring foreign students: academic
• China’s 5% GDP growth target demands ‘hard work’, leaders insist while flagging hopes and risks
• Together, China and the EU can be better prepared for a Trump return
• ‘Two sessions’ 2024: China’s top advisory body told AI gap with US is widening
• China’s aircraft carrier No 4 on track with ‘no technical bottleneck’, admiral reveals in first official confirmation
• China’s Communist Party to get deeper control over State Council led by Premier Li Qiang as ties are ‘redefined’
• EU moves to slap retroactive tariffs on electric vehicles from China
• Australia ‘buying US hegemony’ in region, ex-PM Paul Keating says as he slams nation’s China policy
• China shopkeepers’ wedding closure notice swamped with written blessings from passers-by who they reward with discounts
• Hong Kong plans e-commerce shopping festival to help city’s brands get leg up in mainland China market, commerce minister says
• China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: economic heavyweights face press on ambitious 5% GDP growth target
• China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: long-awaited reform for 300 million migrants could open wellspring of demand
• Malaysia opposition MP slammed for linking Chinese villages under Unesco plan to communism
• South China Sea: Philippines accuses Beijing of ‘deliberately stirring up trouble’ in disputed waters
• Dating in China: statuesque woman told being tall is a disadvantage as mainland men prefer ‘cute and helpless-looking’ dates
• EU locks horns with China’s envoy on Ukraine, as schisms on war remain
• Hong Kong should use its ‘super roles’ to help China become financial powerhouse, top Beijing official in city says
• With no spy concerns and tariffs, BYD and other Chinese EVs race ahead in Australia
• US blocks AMD from selling AI chip tailored for China without licence: sources
• ‘Two sessions’ 2024: Xi Jinping says while China pursues ‘new productive forces’ it must avoid economic bubbles
• [World] Trump or Biden: Who does China’s Communist Party want?
• [Business] iPhone China sales slide as Huawei soars - report
• Australian defence official warns Washington audience about military tech innovation gap with China, Russia
• Suffering China shrapnel girl, 11, with 23 shot fragments lodged in body 8 years after being gunned down by neighbour seeks fresh police probe
• US to Investigate Chinese-made ‘Smart’ Cars
• Outgoing US climate envoy John Kerry says he will stay involved, hopes to maintain dialogue with Chinese counterpart
• China makes science and tech a budget priority with 10% jump in spending
• Mainland China’s extension of Hong Kong solo visitor scheme generates lukewarm response in target cities Xian and Qingdao

Ex-Google engineer Linwei Ding charged with stealing AI secrets to aid Chinese companies

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3254450/ex-google-engineer-linwei-ding-charged-stealing-ai-secrets-aid-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed

A former software engineer at Google has been charged with stealing artificial intelligence technology from the company while secretly working with two companies based in China, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Linwei Ding, a Chinese national, was arrested in Newark, California, on four counts of federal trade secret theft, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The case against Ding was being announced at an American Bar Association Conference in San Francisco by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who along with other law enforcement leaders has repeatedly warned about the threat of Chinese economic espionage and about the national security concerns posed by advancements in artificial intelligence.

“Today’s charges are the latest illustration of the lengths affiliates of companies based in the People’s Republic of China are willing to go to steal American innovation,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies can cost jobs and have devastating economic and national security consequences.”

US Justice Department leaders in recent weeks have been sounding alarms about how foreign adversaries could harness AI technologies to negatively affect the United States.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech last month that the administration’s multi-agency Disruptive Technology Strike Force would place AI enforcement at the top of its priority list, and Wray told business leaders at an event last week that AI and other emerging technologies had made it easier for adversaries to try to interfere with the American political process.

An indictment unsealed on Wednesday in the Northern District of California alleges that Ding, who was hired by Google in 2019 and had access to confidential information about the company’s supercomputing data centres, began uploading hundreds of files into a personal Google Cloud account two years ago.

Within weeks of the theft starting, prosecutors say, Ding was offered the position of chief technology officer at an early-stage technology company in China that touted its use of AI technology. The indictment says Ding travelled to China and took part in investor meetings at the company and sought to raise capital for it.

China’s AI gap with US is widening: ‘we are all very anxious’

He also separately founded and served as chief executive of a China-based start-up company that aspired to train “large AI models powered by supercomputing chips”, the indictment said.

Prosecutors say Ding did not disclose either affiliation to Google.

He resigned from the company on December 26. Three days later, Google officials learned that he had presented as CEO of one of the Chinese companies at an investor conference in Beijing.

Officials also reviewed surveillance showing that another employee had scanned Ding’s access badge at the building where he worked to make it look like Ding was there during times when he was actually in China, the indictment says.

It was not immediately clear whether Ding, 38, had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

US can’t beat China, so it should join it in the EV revolution

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3254258/us-cant-beat-china-so-it-should-join-it-ev-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed

In the United States, sharp disagreements exist over numerous critical national issues. However, there is bipartisan consensus on reducing dependence on China. The latest initiative from both the Republican and Democratic parties involves raising tariffs or invoking national security concerns to prevent Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) from entering the US market.

While blocking Chinese EVs from the US market might safeguard American jobs in the short term, it could hinder EV adoption and limit American consumers’ access to affordable EVs in the medium term. Rather than blocking Chinese EVs, the Biden administration should focus on formulating a long-term strategy.

As BYD announced in late February its plans to establish a factory in Mexico, Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Protecting American Autoworkers from China Act of 2024. This proposed legislation seeks to raise tariffs on Chinese cars and auto parts – irrespective of their manufacturing location – from the current 25 per cent to a hefty 125 per cent.

If enacted, this law would prevent BYD from circumventing these tariffs by leveraging the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement even if it produces its EVs in Mexico and satisfies requirements for rules of origin.

In late February, US President Joe Biden directed the Commerce Department to investigate whether Chinese smart EVs could pose a risk of Chinese cyberattacks. Citing potential national security threats, this investigation could lead to new regulations aimed at limiting data collection and foreign control over US-based vehicles.

Hawley’s proposal and Biden’s directive reflect their concerns about the impact of Chinese carmakers on the US auto market and their intent to safeguard American autoworkers. However, these strategies could prove ineffective.

First, imposing additional tariffs on Chinese EVs could contravene the rules of the World Trade Organization and provoke retaliation from China. This could escalate the ongoing trade war, which is detrimental to both nations.

Second, using tariffs to discourage US carmakers from importing Chinese EV batteries and auto parts could inflate production costs, making US EVs less competitive. In the medium term, US carmakers cannot decouple from China as they rely heavily on Chinese auto parts.

Third, shielding the US auto sector could reduce the impetus for auto firms to innovate and produce affordable, reliable EVs. Partly owing to the perception that small cars yield small profits, US carmakers have concentrated on larger vehicles. For example, General Motors discontinued its popular Chevrolet Bolt EV, priced below US$28,000, last December. Instead, GM and Ford have focused on producing higher-priced electric SUVs and pickup trucks.

However, after years of high inflation, American consumers have become hesitant to spend. Consequently, the sales of these larger EVs fell short of predictions in 2023. When cheaper Chinese EVs are blocked from the US market, American consumers are denied the option of purchasing affordable EVs.

These delaying tactics not only discourage the adoption of EVs but impede progress towards a sustainable green economy. Rather than barring Chinese EVs from the US market, the US should consider welcoming them to transform the country’s EV ecosystem.

Permitting the sale of certain affordable and reliable Chinese EVs could be an effective strategy to accelerate EV adoption in the US. Politics aside, most Americans appreciate good deals. The quality of Chinese cars has significantly improved in the last decade, and BYD EVs such as the Atto 3 SUV – which received a five-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme in 2022 – are good deals.

Also, challenging the US auto industry will compel GM, Ford and others to innovate or perish. Rather than discourage its entry, the Biden administration could invite BYD to establish a factory in the US to manufacture certain models such as the Atto 3. It’s worth noting that BYD has manufactured electric buses in Lancaster, California, since 2013.

Apple cancels work on electric car, moves team to AI project

In addition, Vietnam’s VinFast is building a factory to produce different models of cars in North Carolina. Having more foreign brands manufacture their cars in the US would create competition and more manufacturing jobs in the US.

Forging partnerships with Chinese EV firms could foster innovation in the US. Establishing joint ventures with some Chinese firms could facilitate mutual learning. While it’s true that the Chinese have learned a lot from Americans, it’s equally possible for Americans to learn from the Chinese, especially in terms of developing an ecosystem for EVs.

Only a few Chinese EV firms have managed to survive in the competitive Chinese market. The US should learn from this by encouraging more firms to enter the market. Letting the market decide the winners aligns with the American spirit.

BYD’s success can be attributed to its vertical integration strategy. It develops its proprietary lithium iron phosphate Blade batteries, which are safer, cheaper and more durable than conventional lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, BYD has an in-house unit to develop chips for its EVs.

By integrating all these in-house R&D capabilities, BYD has greater control over the cost, quality, speed of development and supply of key components. While getting US carmakers to become vertically integrated again might not be practical, encouraging them to develop a vertically integrated EV supply chain is essential.

If you can’t beat them, join them. The US could collaborate with China on areas of mutual interest, such as setting global standards, sharing best practices and addressing environmental challenges related to EVs. By doing so, the US could enhance its own competitiveness and innovation in the global EV market while reducing both its dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.

China to oppose US lawmakers’ new move forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok amid mainland tech restrictions, analysts say

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3254414/china-oppose-us-lawmakers-new-move-forcing-bytedance-divest-tiktok-amid-mainland-tech-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed

American lawmakers’ latest effort to force TikTok parent ByteDance to divest its popular short video platform, or face a ban in the United States, is not expected to make progress just like previous attempts amid Beijing’s strong opposition, according to analysts.

A bipartisan bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday that would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok, or else the app would no longer be available on US app stores or be accessible on web-hosting services in the country.

The Chinese government “would block the sale” even if ByteDance and other mainland investors were forced to divest their shares, according to Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore and a research fellow at Asia-based philanthropic organisation Hinrich Foundation.

He indicated that ByteDance could face legal consequences on the mainland if it transfers ownership or technology to the US without Beijing’s approval.

“It’s unlikely that TikTok will ever be effectively banned in America”, Capri said. “Any attempt to ban it outright is likely to be struck down in US courts on the grounds that this violates a user’s First Amendment right to free speech.”

Beijing-based ByteDance, which was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A TikTok spokesman on Tuesday described the new bill as “an outright ban” of the app, adding that it would “trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs”.

The new bill marks the first notable US legislative effort in almost a year towards getting ByteDance to divest TikTok, following a stalled 2023 US Senate legislation to ban the app amid heavy lobbying by the Chinese social media giant.

TikTok told to break with China’s Communist Party or lose access to US users

An initial vote on the bill is expected this Thursday. It was sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers led by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, the chair of the House of Representatives’ select China committee, and top Democratic congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

US President Joe Biden has prohibited the use of TikTok on devices owned by the federal government, although his re-election campaign last month launched its official TikTok account.

An opinion piece on Guancha.cn, a nationalist Chinese website, played down the threat posed by the new bill, asserting that US politicians are showing “their political manoeuvring against TikTok” during an election year.

Similar attempts to ban TikTok in the US or force ByteDance to divest the app’s operations in the country date back to 2020 during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. Various prior executive orders and bills have been either stalled or blocked by US courts.

US executive order to keep Americans’ personal data from ‘countries of concern’

Beijing had partly thwarted Washington’s moves against TikTok in 2020 by revising its rules on technology exports. Any export of software, such as the algorithm that serves as TikTok’s recommendation engine, were included in the restricted list. That means TikTok’s US operations can be sold, but not the key technology that powers the app.

“We have been down this road before,” Paul Triolo, an associate partner for China and technology policy lead at consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “Project Texas remains the best ‘solution’.”

That project refers to a series of protocols proposed by TikTok that restricts access to users’ data in the US in coordination with the US government.

Last year, TikTok said it has already spent US$1.5 billion on the project and estimated that it will cost between US$700 million and US$1 billion annually once it is fully operational.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said in March last year that Beijing would “firmly oppose” any move by the US government to force the sale of TikTok. China would intervene because “the sale or divestment of TikTok involves technology export and must be subject to administrative licensing procedures in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations”.

China’s ‘two sessions’: Xi Jinping tells scientists to fight the tech battle well

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3254427/chinas-two-sessions-xi-jinping-tells-scientists-fight-tech-battle-well?utm_source=rss_feed

President Xi Jinping has called on the country’s scientific community to “fight the battle well”, as China vies for technological supremacy with the US and the leadership looks to boost the flagging economy.

Xi made the call on Wednesday during a panel discussion with representatives from the science and technology sector at the annual gathering of China’s top political advisory body in Beijing.

The president urged them to “further strengthen aspirations to rejuvenate the country through science and education, and take on the heavy responsibility of scientific and technological innovation”, according to a report on state broadcaster CCTV.

“[We should] improve basic research and apply basic research to fight the battle well for key technologies and cultivate new drivers of intellectual productivity,” Xi said.

He also asked for “pragmatic” advice from the country’s top scientists on making reforms to the system – including how to develop talent – and better use of incentives for innovation.

The last time Xi joined a science and tech panel discussion at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was more than a decade ago, in 2013.

China’s UN envoy urges ‘forward-looking’ AI research as tech race intensifies

It comes as Beijing is ramping up a push for self-reliance in the sector in a bid to counter moves by Washington to block China’s access to and development of cutting-edge technologies.

The CPPCC science and technology group has 43 members – some of them leading experts in fields seen as critical to achieving China’s ambitions. Its members include Xiao Longxu, an expert in missile weapon control theory from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, mathematician Li Xing from Ningxia University, and Qiao Jie, a reproductive doctor and biologist.

It is not just the US-China tech battle at play – the leadership is also looking to scientific innovation to help revive the country’s sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery.

Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday announced an annual GDP growth target of 5 per cent for this year. And he said the development of “new quality productive forces” would be accelerated – referring to sectors that depend on advances in science and technology, from new-energy vehicles to biomanufacturing.

The priority given to scientific development was also reflected in the draft budget report released by the finance ministry on Tuesday. It includes a 10 per cent rise in spending on science and technology this year – the largest percentage increase for any major area of government expenditure – amounting to 379.8 billion yuan (US$52.7 billion).

South China Sea: Philippines won’t let China remove military outpost on disputed shoal, ‘these are red lines’, navy commander

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254429/south-china-sea-philippines-wont-let-china-remove-military-outpost-disputed-shoal-these-are-red?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines will not allow China to remove a Philippine military outpost in a fiercely disputed South China Sea shoal, a navy official said on Wednesday, a day after four Filipino navy personnel were injured in a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine ships.

Philippine officials summoned a Chinese Embassy diplomat in Manila to convey a strong protest over the confrontation Tuesday off Second Thomas Shoal. A small Filipino navy contingent has stood guard on a long-marooned warship that has served as an outpost in the shoal since the 1990s.

Washington issued a warning after Tuesday’s hostilities that it is obliged to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack anywhere in the South China Sea.

Philippine navy Commodore Roy Trinidad also said Filipino forces will not allow any structure to be erected in another hotly contested South China Sea area, Scarborough Shoal. China surrounded the vast fishing atoll northwest of the Philippines with coastguard and suspected militia ships in 2012 after a tense stand-off between Chinese and Philippine ships.

“These are red lines for the Philippines, to the armed forces,” Trinidad said at a news conference in Manila when asked what Chinese actions would be unacceptable to the Philippines in the disputed waters.

Trinidad said the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who preceded current President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, established those “red lines,” which delineate actions by China and any other rival claimant state that would spark fierce Philippine resistance in the disputed sea.

The latest flare-up in the long-simmering disputes began when Chinese coastguard and suspected militia ships shadowed, surrounded and blocked two Philippine coastguard ships which were escorting two civilian motorboats manned by Filipino navy personnel.

They were on the way to deliver supplies and replacement navy and marine personnel to the BRP Sierra Madre, a navy warship that was deliberately grounded by the Philippine military in the late 1990s in the shallows of Second Thomas Shoal to serve as a territorial outpost.

China also claims the area and has surrounded the shoal with coastguard, navy and suspected militia ships to prevent Filipino forces from delivering construction materials to reinforce the Sierra Madre, which is encrusted with rust and slightly tilting but remains an actively commissioned navy ship, meaning any attack on it would be considered by Manila as an act of war.

After dawn on Tuesday, a Chinese coastguard vessel sideswiped one of the Philippine coastguard ships, the BRP Sindangan, where crewmen scrambled to lower rubber fenders along the side to avoid damage to the hull. Two Associated Press journalists and other media who were invited to travel on the patrol ship witnessed the tense confrontation.

South China Sea code: Philippines’ U-turn a sign tensions still hinder progress

Inviting journalists to join trips by Philippine ships to the area is part of a strategy adopted last year by the government to publicise China’s aggressive actions in one of the world’s most hotly contested waterways. China has reacted by providing its coastguard personnel with video cameras to contest Manila’s version of the confrontations.

The Chinese coastguard said in its account of the incident that the BRP Sindangan had rammed its ship, although the journalists aboard the Philippine coastguard vessel saw the Chinese ship approach dangerously close before the collision.

Later, another Chinese coastguard ship blocked and then collided with a supply boat being escorted by the Philippine coastguard, Filipino officials said.

The supply boat was later hit by water cannon blasts from two Chinese coastguard ships. Philippine navy vice-admiral Alberto Carlos was aboard the boat and witnessed the water cannon assault, which he said caused minor injuries to four navy personnel.

“The pressure was really intense,” Carlos said. “It shattered the windshield of the boat and caused some injuries.”

The damaged boat immediately returned to the western Philippine province of Palawan. The other supply boat managed to evade the Chinese coastguard blockade and delivered supplies to the Filipino forces guarding the shoal, Philippine officials said.

The two-decade-long territorial stand-off sparked a series of confrontations between Chinese and Filipino forces last year, with the Philippines protesting dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese coastguard vessels and China demanding that the Sierra Madre be towed away by the Philippines.

The Chinese coastguard said in a statement that “it took control measures in accordance with the law against Philippine ships that illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef,” the name Beijing uses for Second Thomas Shoal.

Washington condemned the Chinese coastguard’s actions, and its ambassador in Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said the US stands with the Philippines. Australia and Japan separately expressed their concern over China’s actions.

French ‘Spider-Man’ scales GT tower to support Philippines’ South China Sea claims

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the incidents showed China’s “reckless disregard for the safety of Filipinos and also for international law,” and that China was interfering with “lawful Philippine maritime operations.”

The confrontations have sparked fears of a larger conflict that could involve the United States.

Chinese and Philippine officials met in Shanghai in January and agreed to take steps to lower tensions, but the recent confrontations underscore the difficulty of doing so.

“If China desires some improvement or progress in resolving these maritime disputes in a peaceful and orderly manner, we demand that they match their words with their actions,” Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, said on Wednesday at a news conference in Manila.

‘Confusion’ over China’s spy laws could be deterring foreign students: academic

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3254397/confusion-over-chinas-spy-laws-could-be-deterring-foreign-students-academic?utm_source=rss_feed

A former dean from the prestigious Peking University has proposed that China should provide detail on its controversial anti-espionage law to ease the political concerns of potential foreign students.

Jia Qingguo, who previously headed the university’s international relations school, submitted the proposal to top advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that is meeting in Beijing for the “two sessions” parliamentary gatherings.

Since the introduction of foreign-related laws, the implementing regulations had not yet been issued, “leading to some confusion”, he wrote in the submission, which was published on the WeChat account of the university’s Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding.

“For example, in the case of the recently introduced counter-espionage law, no implementation rules have been issued to clarify what information is to be collected and how it is to be collected, in a way that does not constitute a violation of the law and that has led to misunderstandings outside China.”

Jia’s assessment follows an unexpected blow to Beijing’s efforts to promote China’s higher education sector over the past decade, part of a broader soft power effort to boost its international image and build stable relationships with foreign countries.

China urges public to join ‘grim and complex’ anti-espionage fight

But after the disruption of the pandemic, international students did not return when Covid-19 border closures were lifted early last year and China fully resumed student visa processing.

No official figures have been released, but the US ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns estimated there were only about 350 American students in the country last year – a dramatic decline from the peak of 2015, when some 15,000 were studying in China.

South Korean students – who once accounted for a majority of China’s international student population because of the two countries’ close economic and cultural ties – also appear to have lost interest in studying in China.

According to the education ministry in Seoul, only 15,857 South Koreans were studying in China last year, an 80 per cent drop compared with the 73,240 peak in 2017.

Jia pointed out that the pandemic restrictions could hardly be blamed for the drop in numbers, with international students apparently returning to other institutions worldwide.

A strong presence of Chinese students abroad also suggested that geopolitics itself is responsible for the sharp decline in international interest for studying in China, he added.

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

Instead, Jia’s submission explored other possibilities for the slump and suggested some measures that could improve China’s attractiveness to foreign students.

Payment barriers for foreigners, along with the withdrawal of foreign businesses as China’s economic growth has slowed, may be driving away many students, who would be expecting fewer employment opportunities after graduation, he said.

Some international students could also be deterred from considering China as a destination because of concerns about censorship and restrictions on academic freedom.

“For example, the current [practice of] anonymous review of master’s and doctoral theses also put an emphasis on political correctness, and this would increase uncertainties [for] foreign students with different political and cultural backgrounds.”

College in southern China gets ‘unanimous praise’ for expelling foreign student

Jia suggested cutting red tape for foreign students looking for internships or even job opportunities in non-sensitive institutions, as well as lowering the work visa threshold for foreign graduates.

He also proposed that educational institutions could ease academic freedom concerns by taking a different standard – based on the law rather than political considerations – when assessing dissertations by foreign students.

Jia’s submission recommended that China should expand the number of scholarships available to foreign students, including for short-term studies, to encourage more international enrolments.

China’s 5% GDP growth target demands ‘hard work’, leaders insist while flagging hopes and risks

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3254432/chinas-5-gdp-growth-target-demands-hard-work-leaders-insist-while-flagging-hopes-and-risks?utm_source=rss_feed

In the midst of a battering of headwinds that threaten to capsize China’s economic recovery, Beijing has offered assurances that it has enough tools in its proverbial financial kit to batten down the hatches, right the ship and quell the concerns of overseas investors.

To that end, leadership has set an ambitious goal of growing the economy by 5 per cent this year – a target that is in line with China’s growth potential and “is a positive goal reachable with a jump”, National Development and Reform Commission chief Zheng Shanjie told the press on Wednesday during the annual “two sessions” parliamentary gatherings.

He explained that the 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth target – the same as last year’s target – was the result of the central government’s comprehensive assessment, “taking into account current and long-term needs and possibilities”.

“It is scientifically supported and coherent with the country’s 14th five-year plan [for 2021-25],” Zheng said. “It matches our economy’s potential and is achievable through our hard work.”

Premier’s promise-laden speech leaves China’s foreign, private firms ambivalent

China’s economy has got off to a strong start in the first quarter of the year, Zheng said, as evidenced by power generation during January and February being up by 11.7 per cent, year on year – an indication of economic activity rising. He also pointed to a rise in the number of tourists who ventured out during the Lunar New Year holiday week, marking a 19 per cent increase compared with pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.

However, even authorities conceded that grabbing hold of 5 per cent economic growth will not come as low-hanging fruit, due to the relatively high base of comparison with 2023 and in the face of persistent deflationary risks, a prolonged property market downturn, and mounting pressure from the West in areas such as tech and new energy.

Hurdles that threaten to stand in the way of the lofty GDP goal include challenges in developing a unified domestic market, an increasingly complex external environment, and the financial constraints that continue to hold back many firms, Zheng acknowledged.

In an effort to dispel market concerns on how Beijing will be able to achieve the ambitious target, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng also said at the press conference that Beijing’s monetary policy toolkit is still deep, and he signalled that further moves were in the works to lower lending costs for financial institutions and to address deflationary risks.

In setting monetary policy, China will focus on stabilising price levels while spurring a mild rebound in prices, and also on “maintaining the health of the banking sector’s balance sheet and pushing for a gradual decline in financing costs”, Pan said.

Many economists think China will see GDP growth of between 4.5 to 5 per cent. The International Monetary Fund has predicted 4.6 per cent, pointing to “high uncertainty” in China’s economic outlook.

“The economy right now looks like a hardworking middle-aged man – it remains powerful and productive, but has started to catch some chronic diseases. It probably needs to change its way of living and switch gears instead,” said Xu Tianchen, a senior economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

And Capital Economics had said in a note on Tuesday that China’s policy support should underpin the need for near-term improvement while also addressing the need to ward off headwinds from trade woes and a property crisis that look to intensify over the coming year.

“It is probably safe to assume that the growth target will be met, on paper,” its analysts added. “But unless stimulus goes beyond what has been signalled at the [National People’s Congress], we aren’t convinced that the economy will expand this quickly, in practice.”

From outer space to seven seas, China’s 6 big economic priorities for 2024

Meanwhile, China is banking on replacement programmes for used cars, outdated equipment and consumer goods, in a bid to help boost economic activity.

Zheng said a large-scale trade-in programme for potentially billions of home appliances will be a multi-trillion-yuan market, benefiting both consumption and manufacturing.

Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao expanded on that sentiment.

“Promoting the replacement of old consumer goods with new ones is not only a powerful measure to enhance the current economic growth momentum and consolidate the recovery, it’s also a long-term strategy to promote high-quality development,” Wang said.

Officials added the issuance and use of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, coupled with interest rate cuts, reserve requirement ratio cuts, tax cuts and fee reductions implemented in the previous period, would continue to play a critical role in supporting China’s economic growth this year.

Zheng also pledged to give “full play” to the private sector when it comes to investment, highlighting that the sector accounts for more than 50 per cent of all investment in China.

Among its policy tools, China also aims to lean heavily on its “new three” exports – namely electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels – seeking to turn them into main economic drivers.

“The overall growth [of “new three” exports] has been 30 per cent from the year before … and it exemplifies that China is accelerating its transition from old to new economic engines, and that our manufacturing quality keeps improving,” Zheng said.

However, China’s 1 trillion yuan (US$139 billion) market for those types of exports could face a new smattering of challenges this year, as legal action and tariff increases by the United States and European Union against a perceived oversupply of cheap products could set back a critical segment of the world’s second-largest economy unless it diversifies away from the West and also boosts domestic demand, according to analysts.

Despite the significant roadblocks, the “new three” exports will continue to make inroads in the global market, the EIU’s Xu said.

“They are so competitive and so cheap that other markets will find them hard to resist unless their governments shut the door completely,” Xu said. “If there is any downside, it’s that they are probably not enough to offset declines elsewhere – such as in property.”

Additional reporting by Mia Nulimaimaiti

Together, China and the EU can be better prepared for a Trump return

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/united-states/article/3254154/together-china-and-eu-can-be-better-prepared-trump-return?utm_source=rss_feed

As the countdown to the US presidential election begins, China and the European Union must prepare themselves for Donald Trump’s potential second term. While individual efforts are essential, true power lies in the ability of China and the EU to develop a coordinated response.

Collaboration must be bolstered across three crucial fronts: mitigating security risks, addressing key geopolitical issues, and strengthening economic and trade relations.

The security standpoint deserves special consideration in light of Trump’s contentious attitudes towards China and the EU. He is likely to intensify the hostilities seen in his first presidency, from the trade war with China to scepticism over EU alliances.

Trump has consistently displayed antagonism towards Europe, declaring that the EU took advantage of the US and reportedly comparing it unfavourably to China. His support for Brexit also suggested a desire for EU disintegration, which would undermine America’s long-standing partnership with Europe.

Recently, Trump said he would “encourage” Russia to attack Nato members who fail to meet their defence spending commitments, calling them “delinquent”. His words caused massive concern.

True, the US outspends all other countries on defence in maintaining a network of 750 bases across 80 countries, but Trump appears to conveniently overlook that this is America’s own strategic decision.

In reality, Nato operates on a modest budget – this year’s military expenditure is set at €2.03 billion (US$2.2 billion) when the combined defence spending of Nato members is over US$1 trillion.

But truth and reason have never been obstacles and Trump’s message is clear: as president, he is likely to withdraw support for Ukraine and could withdraw the US itself from Nato.

This would not only affect Europe but also favour China, with ramifications for their relationship. First, America’s exit from Nato would force the EU to establish a collective European defence structure with operational objectives and stronger intelligence, bringing to fruition EU strategic autonomy – a plan long endorsed by China.

Second, a US-influenced faction within Nato has been trying to pressure its European members into confronting China. America’s exit would calm this aggression, benefiting China.

Third, this transition could substantially reshape the Sino-European dynamic. A Nato without the US could weaken Russia’s justification for invading Ukraine and enable Chinese President Xi Jinping to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin towards a war settlement. Without US pressure, the EU might even explore alternative arms markets.

Could these synergies eventually affect China’s ties with Russia? To what extent might it prompt a re-evaluation of the security partnership?

It’s hard to say how the geopolitical scenarios under a new Trump presidency may tip the scales. It could pave the way for diplomatic resolutions or escalate tensions among the major world powers.

What US allies and enemies can expect if Donald Trump is president again

An America under Trump is likely to move away from multilateralism and international organisations. China may take the opportunity to expand its allies and power base, which would benefit its long-term standing in global governance. But a Trump presidency is also expected to be unpredictable and the risks may eclipse the potential benefits.

Given Beijing’s mistrust of Trump, his ambiguity over whether he would commit the US to the defence of Taiwan could be seen as one of his calculated distractions. And Chinese officials prefer certainty to surprises.

In Europe, a second Trump term could push the EU to finally adopt a clearer geopolitical stance. This would present another opportunity for an urgent mediation between China and the EU, especially over conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, fostering a deeper understanding.

With the European parliament elections set for June, changes in the EU leadership could have a big influence on its relations with China. Beijing’s efforts in brokering peace in the Ukraine war could serve as a reconciliatory gesture and spark a definitive shift in the EU’s China policy.

Economically, China and the EU must strengthen their roles as vital trade partners by addressing challenges such as trade imbalances and ensuring fair market access. Additionally, levelling the playing field for European investments in China is crucial, and activating the provisions of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment could be a solution.

Furthermore, China and the EU could consider jointly establishing a list of strategic resources to be included in the EU’s de-risking agenda. It would mitigate any potential economic vulnerabilities and enhance resilience in the face of uncertainties.

Why China is focusing on Europe despite improved relations with US

This is particularly important for China as escalating US trade barriers highlight the need to enhance business ties with the EU to facilitate trade growth, which necessitates the consideration of key European concerns.

The US trade war against China, which has intensified under the Biden administration, is set to go further as Trump threatens to raise tariffs to 60 per cent or more for China if elected – and 10 per cent for everyone else, including Europe.

Trump, as president for a second time, would have more political experience and that could mean greater assertiveness, with retaliation against alleged adversaries expected to be a prominent feature of his administration. This could be compounded by the recruitment of a more aligned and loyal team, potentially restricting the space for rational dialogue.

In the eight months leading up to the US presidential election and the more than 11 months until the next president takes office, China and the EU must aim to resolve the critical issues that separate them. Passive observation is not an option with the election outcome likely to profoundly affect both sides and shape the path of their relations.

‘Two sessions’ 2024: China’s top advisory body told AI gap with US is widening

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3254398/two-sessions-2024-chinas-top-advisory-body-told-ai-gap-us-widening?utm_source=rss_feed

At a major state-owned chip company in the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, there is growing anxiety about a “widening gap” in artificial intelligence (AI).

During a sideline meeting on Tuesday in Beijing at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – the country’s top political advisory body – Zeng Yi, a delegate who heads the Shenzhen-based China Electronics Corporation, said his firm has a “long way” to go to catch up with the United States.

“Objectively speaking, despite the great efforts we have been making, our difference [with the US] is still huge,” Zeng told the gathering of a few dozen representatives of the science and technology community.

As China pursues ‘new productive forces’, economic bubbles must be avoided: Xi

At the annual “two sessions” meetings, Beijing has continued to highlight self-reliance in science and technology as the key to transforming the Chinese economy at a time when development is under pressure from increasing US technology curbs. But Zeng, who said the work his company is doing is “at the forefront of China-US science and technology competition”, said the country is still falling behind.

“In a certain sense, as new developments in AI emerge exponentially, if no decisive and groundbreaking measures are taken, we are at risk of seeing an even wider gap,” he said.

“Problems in the development of information technology cannot be solved by creating applicable scenarios, nor through breakthroughs in specific technologies … it is not even a problem about talent and basic research,” Zeng said.

“It is about many things from all aspects, we are all very anxious.”

China at a crossroads ahead of Two Sessions 2020 - SCMP Series

Zeng leads a company that develops national cyber and information security technology, chip research and design, semiconductor equipment, advanced manufacturing processes, and operating systems.

China has relied heavily for its technology development on US chip imports and other crucial Western equipment. But US sanctions have constricted Chinese access to key tools such as advanced graphics processing units from Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chip designer, which had up to 90 per cent of market share in China’s AI chip market.

Now, both state-owned and private companies are under pressure to ramp up the country’s domestic technology development.

While China’s AI industry was generally seen as more competitive in the varied tech rivalry between the two countries, the latest launch of OpenAI’s Sora and ChatGPT has raised questions about China’s progress in catching up with the US.

Risks ahead but China’s economy to stay on long-term, tech-led course

To cope, Chinese tech companies, which have insisted that chip restrictions would not affect AI their development in the short term, have relied on their existing inventories, or have turned to domestic AI chip makers.

But after Sora was launched last month, the State Council’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which manages companies like Zeng’s, urged firms under direct control of the central government to “embrace the profound changes brought about by AI”.

In terms of global computing power, including intelligent computing power from AI chips, China ranks second at 33 per cent after the US at 34 per cent, and ahead of Europe and Japan, at 17 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

As China’s economy undergoes ‘structural upgrade’, tech becomes a top priority

Leading Chinese tech firms, such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE, have invested heavily in the research and development of AI chips.

The Post has reported that Huawei, in particular, was identified as a potential rival in AI chips, after its new AI chipset – Huawei Ascend 910B – was made available via distributor channels on the mainland.

The tech giant surprised the market last August with the launch of its first 5G smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, following US sanctions.

China’s aircraft carrier No 4 on track with ‘no technical bottleneck’, admiral reveals in first official confirmation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3254415/chinas-aircraft-carrier-no-4-track-no-technical-bottleneck-admiral-reveals-first-official?utm_source=rss_feed

China is building its fourth aircraft carrier, a naval admiral and political supervisor has confirmed, adding that the going has been smooth on the technical front.

The fresh update on China’s opaque warship development programme came during annual legislative meetings in Beijing where People’s Liberation Army (PLA) representatives make rare public appearances.

Asked whether China’s newest carrier would be nuclear-powered, PLA Navy political commissar Yuan Huazhi said this “will soon be announced”, according to a video interview posted by Hong Kong Commercial Daily on social media platform Weibo.

The admiral added that he had not heard of any “technical bottleneck” regarding the aircraft carrier, suggesting its progress was on track.

Yuan’s comments, coming on the sidelines as this year’s National People’s Congress (NPC) opened on Tuesday, represent the first official confirmation of Beijing’s efforts to build a fourth aircraft carrier, commonly known as the Type 004.

Illustrations of the warship, however, have long been circulating on the internet.

The artwork was purported to have come from the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, where the carrier is believed to be under construction.

With the Fujian, its third and most advanced aircraft carrier to date, China achieved a breakthrough by equipping it with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices that allow warplanes to be launched more frequently.

It has been widely discussed whether China’s latest warship could take another step up to become nuclear-powered, allowing it to generate sufficient power for catapult-launch take offs and offer a longer range with a higher speed.

The Fujian, which has yet to conduct sea trials, was launched in June 2022.

PLA sources told the Post the same year that China’s naval nuclear reactor technology at the time was not sufficient to support nuclear carriers.

Only the US and French navies currently have nuclear-powered carriers – the American Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford class ships, and the French flagship Charles de Gaulle.

China has been looking to expand its carrier fleet as it aims to develop a modern “blue-water” navy within the next decade.

Aircraft carriers are also believed to be crucial to operations along the Taiwan Strait, where so-called freedom of navigation operations by the US and its allies have triggered protests from Beijing.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise the self-governed island as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

China is also developing new generation stealth fighters to increase its overall warfare capabilities – in line with its goal to develop a “world class” military power by 2049.

PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier sails off south Taiwan in ‘show of force’

Tensions have risen as the US deploys more carriers in the western Pacific, which analysts say is a response to military manoeuvres from China and North Korea.

Yuan said China has the capability to deliver an “all-round response” to the US carrier fleet in the western Pacific. Three US aircraft carriers are already operating in the region, with two more reportedly on the way.

Asked to compare the Chinese aircraft carrier development with that of the US, he said the Chinese advancements in the field were not aimed at competition with the US.

“We are building aircraft carriers to protect our national sovereignty and to protect our territorial integrity,” he said.

China’s latest military budget announced on Tuesday raised funding for the armed forces by 7.2 per cent, the same rate as last year amid aims to ramp up combat readiness as well as defence research and development.

China’s Communist Party to get deeper control over State Council led by Premier Li Qiang as ties are ‘redefined’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3254387/chinas-communist-party-get-deeper-control-over-state-council-led-premier-li-qiang-ties-are-redefined?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s legislature is set to approve a bill to impose further and stronger Communist Party control on the State Council, the country’s cabinet.

The amendment to the Organic Law of the State Council is expected to pass on Monday, the last day of the National People’s Congress (NPC) – China’s annual parliamentary meetings.

It includes specific clauses saying the council will closely follow the Communist Party’s ideology, leadership and instructions, further defining its role as faithful policy implementer of the ruling party.

The bill comes at a time when Premier Li Qiang – who was sworn in as the customary head of the State Council at the NPC last March – appears to be scaling back his office’s role in diplomacy and public discourse as the party focuses on loyalty to President Xi Jinping.

Li, China’s No 2 official, will also not be meeting reporters at the close of this year’s NPC, after the premier’s annual press conference was scrapped – ending a tradition dating back at least three decades.

The latest amendment would be the first change to the State Council law since 1982 – when it was formally introduced and passed.

Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the amendment was part of China’s party-state overhaul that began last year, which sought to further consolidate policy-formulation and decision-making power within the party apparatus led by Xi.

The law is of “crucial significance to ensuring that the State Council performs its duties in accordance with the constitution and other laws”, Li told the legislature on Tuesday in explaining the draft amendment, which consists of 20 articles.

One article stipulates that the council shall uphold the leadership of the ruling party and be guided by Marxism-Leninism, as well as the political doctrines of previous and current party leaders.

Premier Li vows China’s ‘new type’ of diplomacy will pursue equality and order

The article also says that the State Council shall resolutely safeguard the authority and centralised and unified leadership of the party’s decision-making Central Committee led by Xi, and resolutely implement its decisions and instructions.

Another newly added article stipulates that State Council members shall “resolutely safeguard” the authority and leadership of the party Central Committee, and abide by the Constitution and laws when performing their duties.

The amendments come about a year after Beijing revised a set of “working rules” of the executive body, adding clauses that stipulated loyalty to the party and Xi while removing others on transparency.

The amendment restores some – but not all – transparency clauses that had been removed from the working rules.

A further additional article says unless they are required to be kept confidential by law, the plenary session and the executive meeting of the State Council “shall be announced in a timely manner”.

Risks ahead but China’s economy to stay on long-term, tech-led course

But the amendment does not mention other transparency clauses taken out from the “working rules” – including one that required the State Council to disclose “all matters involving public interests, public rights, matters that need to be widely known and matters of social concern” in a “timely, comprehensive, accurate and specific manner”.

A China politics researcher at Peking University said the revision of the Organic Law at the NPC was “a final step in redefining party and state relations” in the country.

“The law’s passing … means the hierarchy of Xi leading the Communist Party to decide on China’s overall direction and policy, while Li’s State Council becomes Xi’s loyal policy implementer, is being endorsed by the highest legislative body,” said the researcher, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“Xi and the party’s dominance in Chinese politics will be even more solid as the State Council will never be a challenger.”

EU moves to slap retroactive tariffs on electric vehicles from China

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3254371/eu-moves-slap-retroactive-tariffs-electric-vehicles-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Electric vehicles made in China must be registered with customs authorities in the European Union from Thursday as the bloc looks to apply retroactive tariffs from its ongoing probe into subsidies in the Chinese industry.

The move, which was signalled in a document bearing the stamp of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen published on Tuesday night, means vehicles imported before the probe has concluded could be slapped with anti-subsidy duties.

It can be viewed as a way to deter imports, which the EU says are “massive”, and were 11 per cent higher between October and January compared to before the launch of the investigation.

The document says that if the EU waited to impose duties, its own manufacturers would “suffer from diminishing sales and reduced production levels if imports continue at the current increased levels”.

It can also be assumed that the commission is satisfied it has enough evidence to put duties on EVs made in China, but wants to expedite the process.

The note, which was published in the EU’s official journal on Wednesday, said that regarding subsidies, “the commission has at its disposal sufficient evidence tending to show that imports of the product concerned from the PRC [China] are being subsidised”.

Either way, the move will further stoke tensions with Beijing, which has reacted angrily to the suggestion that one of its key industries could be subjected to punitive duties in Europe.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) “voiced its disappointment with the proposed mandate”, saying that the “recent surge in Chinese EV imports mirrors the increasing demand for electric vehicles in Europe”.

“We earnestly hope that the European side will effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and establish a fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment for them,” read a CCCEU statement.

The EU said overcapacity in China’s economy was leading to a flood of hi-tech goods that could not be consumed domestically because of sluggish demand, hitting its shores.

Europe is viewed as one of the last big, open markets for advanced Chinese goods. In other big markets such as the United States and India, they are commonly subjected to import tariffs or other market access restrictions.

As West wobbles on Ukraine war, China’s envoy kicks off European tour

Following the EU’s probe which was launched last September, Britain is reported to be considering its own investigation into EV subsidies, according to Politico.

As well as electric vehicles, there are concerns in Europe about overcapacity in Chinese industries, ranging from wind turbines and solar panels to lithium batteries, heat pumps and electrolysers.

But overcapacity is just one irritant in a volatile trading relationship.

On Tuesday, EU negotiators reached a provisional agreement on a law to ban goods made using forced labour, which was written with the western Chinese region of Xinjiang in mind, although to keep it compliant with World Trade Organization rules, China is not mentioned in the text.

Last month, Brussels blacklisted three Chinese firms for allegedly flouting its sanctions on Russia by funnelling dual-use goods made in Europe to Russian buyers.

During a series of meetings in the Belgian capital this week, Beijing’s envoy to Eurasia, Li Hui, asked EU officials to stop sanctioning Chinese companies because they might be needed for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

China rails against EU’s train subsidy probe – will relations stay on track?

Meanwhile, statistics released on Monday found the EU’s trade in goods deficit with China fell by 27 per cent last year compared to 2022, to €291 billion (US$315 billion). The 2022 deficit was the highest on record, according to the EU data agency Eurostat, and became another bone of discontent in the relationship.

Telecoms products were the biggest EU import last year, but vehicles showed the biggest growth, soaring 36.7 per cent compared to 2022, Eurostat found.

Australia ‘buying US hegemony’ in region, ex-PM Paul Keating says as he slams nation’s China policy

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3254378/australia-buying-us-hegemony-region-ex-pm-paul-keating-says-he-slams-nations-china-policy?utm_source=rss_feed

Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating’s tirade against his country’s China policy and claims that Asean nations are more balanced towards Beijing do not reflect the full picture of foreign policy in the region, analysts say.

At the three-day summit Asean-Australia special summit in Melbourne that began on Monday, Keating argued that Southeast Asian nations did not kowtow to the United States’ bidding to contain China.

His blistering statement on Tuesday focused attention on Asean’s foreign policy of China at the summit, as he accused Canberra of “buying US hegemony” in the region and warned that other nations were not interested in the same thing.

‘Worst international decision’: Australia’s ex-PM blasts Aukus submarine deal

Analysts who spoke to This Week in Asia said countries in Southeast Asia preferred not to be seen as “taking sides” between the two superpowers, though growing Chinese influence had sown some distrust in the region.

Drawing on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s comments during a summit press conference on Monday that the West’s China-phobia should not be imposed on Malaysia, Keating said unlike Australia, Malaysia was unwilling to do the US’ bidding to ring-fence China.

“That difficult task, the maintenance of US strategic hegemony, is being left to supplicants like us,” Keating said.

“What this week’s Asean meeting makes clear is that Australia and Australian policy is at odds with the general tenor of Asean’s perceived strategic interests – that is, interests which relate to China and the United States and relations between them.”

Australia’s concerns with China’s – and the US’ – foreign influence have reached fever pitch, amid questions about China’s spying on Australia and protests against the US government’s lobbying in Canberra to oppose China and engage in wars.

These issues formed the bedrock of Keating’s comments, underscored by Australia’s spy chief’s allegations last week that a former politician had betrayed the country to another, which was eventually identified in a “leak” in the media as China.

Keating criticised Australian intelligence agencies for meddling in the nation’s foreign affairs and for showing “utter contempt for the so-called stabilisation process” with China that the Anthony Albanese government had progressed since coming into office in 2022, following years of tensions between the two countries.

“The anti-China Australian strategic policy establishment was feeling some slippage in its mindless pro-American stance and decided some new China rattling was overdue,” he said in his statement.

Xi Jinping tells visiting Australian PM relations now ‘on the right path’

It was a wake-up call for Canberra when Malaysia’s Anwar told Australia on Monday not to piggyback Australia’s problems with China onto Asean, according to Keating.

But not all Asean nations shared those views, reflecting the complexity of the Asean-China relationship.

Singapore for example extended its support for Australia’s Aukus security arrangements with the US and the UK, which included boosting Australia’s defence with controversial nuclear-powered submarines, aimed at countering China’s military build-up.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Australia had an important security role in the region, referencing its history in fighting wars and conflicts in the region.

“We welcome Australian ships and aircraft to visit Singapore, which they do. And I’ve said before, and I repeated to the prime minister on this visit, that when the Australian new submarines are ready, we welcome them to visit Changi Naval Base in due course,” Lee said.

Why Singapore’s possible hosting of future Aukus subs could provoke Beijing

The Philippines also pushed back on China’s aggression in the South China Sea during the conference but reinforced a need to continue to work and negotiate with China.

Hadrien Saperstein, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Asia Centre think tank in France, said Keating’s comments confirmed the status quo of Southeast Asian nations, that is to avoid a zero-sum position between superpowers.

Aside from the Philippines, which has started to see China’s incursions in the South China Sea through the lens of a security threat, this was not the case with other nations.

“Just about half of the small states within Southeast Asia hold a continentalist view of the high-seas and thus merely designate the South China Sea dispute as a high-risk issue – and not a high-threat issue – that can be simply mitigated through the use of maritime diplomatic initiatives,” he said.

Other analysts say Keating’s comments do not reflect the full picture of Southeast Asia’s security concerns.

China’s aggression in the South China Sea had sown “strategic distrust” among Southeast Asian nations, and they have continued to seek military support with the US and countries like Japan and Australia, said Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow in the Southeast Asia Programme at the Lowy Institute.

On Aukus, behind public statements of concern, some nations have expressed an acceptance of Aukus as part of Australia’s defence strategy.

“Keating has to understand that certain Southeast Asian countries may express certain views publicly, as they would like to be perceived as not taking sides in the US-China rivalry. Privately, they may hold an opposite position which may be more in line with Australia’s stance,” he said.

China shopkeepers’ wedding closure notice swamped with written blessings from passers-by who they reward with discounts

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3253618/china-shopkeepers-wedding-closure-notice-swamped-written-blessings-passers-who-they-reward-discounts?utm_source=rss_feed

Two young business people, who were overwhelmed when their shopfront wedding notice was filled with blessings from passers-by, have attracted a heart-warming response on mainland social media.

Zhang Tianfeng and Zhang Yaping, both 24, are native to Henan province in central China but live in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, eastern China, where they have a duck-head snack shop.

The couple planned to tie the knot in their hometown during the first Lunar New Year month of 2024, so they put up a sign announcing temporary closure.

“We’re going home for the wedding, so the shop will be shut from November 10 to February 14,” the notice said.

They were deeply moved when strangers spontaneously wrote on the notice, the Hangzhou Daily reported.

“We did not expect to receive so many blessing messages from passers-by,” the woman said.

A photo showed that the notice was covered with Chinese characters, including those for happy wedding, eternal love, congratulations and best wishes for your happiness.

Some hearts had also been drawn with red lipstick and a picture postcard was attached with the thoughtful message: “May you see beautiful scenery every day.”

The couple found out about the messages while they were in their hometown after the shop owner next door to theirs in Hangzhou sent a photo to them on WeChat.

“I was flattered and felt very touched,” the husband said, recalling the moment he saw the photo.

“It makes me feel that there is true love in the world,” the wife said.

Once they returned to the shop, they framed the notice.

The couple then rewarded the strangers’ blessings by offering discounts of up to 70 per cent during the first three days after reopening.

On the first day, they also distributed 270 packs of wedding sweets to passers-by.

The story has captivated many people on mainland social media.

“They are all messages of love,” one person said.

“How meaningful the wedding gift is,” said another.

Stories involving wedding blessings are popular in China.

In December 2022, a woman in eastern China discovered spring onions – a traditional blessing for newlyweds – hidden inside a duvet given to her as a wedding gift in 2010.

Also in eastern China, in the same month, a newlywed woman had the surprise of her life while sweeping up when she discovered money strewn all over her living room floor, left as a part of traditional wedding ritual by her mother-in-law.

Hong Kong plans e-commerce shopping festival to help city’s brands get leg up in mainland China market, commerce minister says

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3254382/hong-kong-plans-e-commerce-shopping-festival-help-citys-brands-get-leg-mainland-china-market?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong will plan on hosting an e-commerce shopping festival before the third quarter of this year to boost the city’s brands on mainland China online platforms, the commerce minister has said.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said on Wednesday that local brands also need to think of sales strategies if they want to target the mainland market, including how to reduce costs to enable competitive pricing.

“It is crucial to explore ways to ensure that Hong Kong brands are prominently featured on mainland platforms so that users come across them as soon as they enter [the sites],” Yau told a radio programme, saying more should be done for local products to place top in search engines results.

“Hong Kong brands are of high quality, and people in the mainland have great confidence in them. But it is essential to consider how to promote brand recognition in another market, which involves sales strategies,” he said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu mentioned in his policy address last year that Hong Kong Shopping Festivals would be organised to promote awareness of the city’s brands and tap into the nationwide domestic consumer market.

Last week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also proposed in his budget blueprint to inject HK$500 million (US$63.9 million) extra into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales to help small and medium-sized enterprises bolster their competitiveness and tap into mainland as well as overseas markets.

Authorities earlier launched “e-commerce Easy” under the fund to allow enterprises to make use of HK$1 million for the implementation of e-commerce projects within the cumulative funding ceiling of HK$7 million.

Hong Kong stocks firm, lifted by tech sector rally ahead of JD.com earnings

Yau said a lot of issues still needed to be addressed after the first meeting of an interdepartmental task force in January, particularly on ways to sell Hong Kong products in the mainland and subsequently overseas markets.

“It entails a wide range of considerations, such as determining the appropriate platforms, achieving prominent visibility, addressing tax-related issues, resolving logistics challenges and managing warehousing concerns,” he said.

“It is not an easy task as the e-commerce platforms in mainland China are already well-established. We need to figure out how to achieve a high level of service and satisfaction”.

Stanley Lee Kei-chuen, president of E-Commerce Association of Hong Kong, said it was increasing difficulty for local brands to enter mainland China’s platforms due to the growing presence of international brands.

“Mainland consumers have a lot of choices when it comes to online shopping. Products made in Hong Kong need to be very appealing to them, otherwise they can’t drive [purchasing] desire,” Lee said, adding that some Hong Kong jewellery brands were relatively successful due to their distinctiveness.

Alibaba tests new generative AI tools for merchants on Taobao and Tmall

He also said that many Hong Kong small and medium-sized enterprises are cautious of the high cost of acquiring traffic on mainland e-commerce platforms as they were competing with an overwhelming amount of competitors selling similar products.

“Hong Kong businesses face the challenge of increasing traffic to their products to gain visibility. They might invest in promotional campaigns through social platforms such as Douyin live streaming and Xiaohongshu, but there is a risk that sales revenue may not cover the costs to get higher traffic,” Lee said.

He said if the government could collaborate with mainland platforms to create a “green channel” for Hong Kong businesses to have their products prominently featured, it would be a great help for local brands.

China’s online retail transactions in 2020 surpassed 710 million digital buyers, amounting to US$2.29 trillion in 2020, according to global research company eMarketer.

The firm projects that these transactions would reach US$3.56 trillion by 2024.

China was the largest market for e-commerce with a revenue of US$1.5 trillion in 2021, placing it ahead of the United States, eMarketer added.

China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: economic heavyweights face press on ambitious 5% GDP growth target

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3254244/chinas-two-sessions-2024-economic-heavyweights-face-press-ambitious-5-gdp-growth-target?utm_source=rss_feed

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by in our spring flash sale.

China’s finance and commerce ministers, as well as the heads of the People’s Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission and China Securities Regulatory Commission, face the press on Wednesday during the annual “two sessions” in Beijing.

The event follows a day after Premier Li Qiang delivered his first government work report on the opening day of the National People’s Congress.

Li announced on Tuesday China would set an annual gross domestic product growth target of around 5 per cent for 2024, but questions remain on how Beijing will address the problems faced by the world’s second-largest economy, including its property crisis and local government debt woes.

Follow our live coverage of the press conference as it unfolds.

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China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: long-awaited reform for 300 million migrants could open wellspring of demand

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3254361/chinas-two-sessions-2024-long-awaited-reform-300-million-migrants-could-open-wellspring-demand?utm_source=rss_feed

China is mulling providing equal social benefits for its 300 million migrant workers, a move that would grant that group the same level of coverage as urban residents and, the country hopes, open a previously untapped repository of domestic demand – highly sought after as a means of avoiding economic slowdown.

Creating incentives for migrants to settle down in cities and providing them with same entitlements would be a priority for the Chinese government this year as they represent a vast pool of potential investment and spending, Premier Li Qiang said in his government work report on Tuesday.

Those workers helped propel China’s economic rise but, because of the hukou – the national household registration system – had no access to the superior social services enjoyed by their city-dwelling peers. They are expected to be a force in the next stage of the country’s urbanisation, which still has “much to be achieved”, Li said.

“As a matter of priority, we will move faster to grant permanent urban residency to eligible people who have moved to cities from rural areas,” the premier told delegates of the nation’s top legislature and advisory body during their annual gathering, known as the “two sessions”.

This will help China generate more effective demand to prop up the economy, which is struggling with plunging exports and a property market crisis, said Huang Shouhong, director of the State Council Research Office and head of the drafting team for the report.

“The consumer demand brought about by a person moving to the city is much higher than that of rural residents,” he said while elaborating on the report to the media on Tuesday.

Migrant workers who helped power China’s economic miracle face bleak future

China reported a gross domestic product growth rate of 5.2 per cent last year after an uneven post-pandemic recovery, beating the official target of around 5 per cent. It kept the same target this year, widely seen as an ambitious goal considering the comparatively higher annual base and various challenges the economy is facing.

Slightly more than 66 per cent of China’s 1.4 billion people lived in urban areas as of last year, but this is quite low compared with the over 80 per cent urbanisation rate seen in many developed countries, Huang said.

As of the end of 2022, 47.7 per cent of the Chinese population had urban residency, meaning there are hundreds of millions of people who currently live in cities but are denied access to urban benefits, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

“Getting urban residency doesn’t mean people will get a [higher income], but their expectations for life and work would be stabilised,” said Shi Lei, a professor of economics at Fudan University.

“This means a lot for improving weak sentiment and spurring spending,” he said.

With a guarantee of stability, migrant workers would be more likely to purchase property in towns and cities, he said, which will aid in filling a large portion of previously unsold new homes.

Amid prolonged woes in the real estate sector and geopolitical tensions with the West, insufficient effective demand has remained one of the major challenges for the Chinese economy, China’s top economic officials said at the central economic work conference late last year.

In another attempt to nudge investment and spending in the right direction, the State Council rolled out a plan last week to encourage large-scale equipment renewals and trade-ins of consumer goods.

The permanent relocation of migrant workers may contribute to this initiative, but not at a massive scale, according to Shi.

“Traditional industrialisation in China came to an end in 2016, one piece of evidence being the surplus of labourers in cities,” he said. “It used to be easy for migrant workers to find jobs, but now it’s no longer the case, therefore there’s been a retreat to the countryside in recent years.”

Policymakers should now focus on making the “two-way flow” of people easier, he said, especially between villages and neighbouring towns and counties.

Malaysia opposition MP slammed for linking Chinese villages under Unesco plan to communism

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3254366/malaysia-opposition-mp-slammed-linking-chinese-villages-under-unesco-plan-communism?utm_source=rss_feed

Backbenchers have demanded an opposition MP retract comments linking colonial-era Chinese villages to communism, in the latest furore to cloud a Malaysian government’s plan to seek Unesco world heritage status for the British colonial-era settlements.

Malaysia has seen more frequent rows over culture and identity as a conservative surge among the Malay-Muslim majority empowers the Malay nationalist minority bloc in parliament.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, who is from the multiracial but Chinese-led Democratic Action Party, last year proposed to ask Unesco to recognise the “new villages”, which were set up by the British across several states in the peninsula to contain the spread of communism after World War II.

His proposal triggered an immediate backlash from some Muslim academics and Islamist parties, who described it as an attempt to grant native status to non-Malays.

Dark history of Malaysia’s Chinese villages underscores fury over Unesco bid

Global recognition accorded to these villages could be seen as legitimising the struggles of the Communist Party of Malaya (PKM), Ismail Abu Muttalib, a lawmaker with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition front, said on Wednesday.

“The British moved the Chinese to the new villages because they were influenced by the communists,” Ismail said during a debate in parliament.

“That is why I don’t want the Chinese new villages to be recognised by Unesco because it would be as if we recognise the communists who were in our country.”

Backbenchers were swift to rebuke Ismail’s claim, saying the Chinese minority at the time were victims as their homes were demolished and they were forcibly relocated to British-mandated detention areas.

“The Chinese were victims. I was also a victim. It was called a new village, but it was a British detention area,” said backbencher Ngeh Khoo Ham, adding that the communist link was “very offensive” to Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese minority.

Malaysia’s Unesco plan for Chinese villages triggers fury among Malay groups

Fellow backbencher Mohd Sany Hamzan slammed Ismail for focusing on the Chinese when Malays were also involved with the communist movement.

Ismail acknowledged that Malays were also corralled into their version of new villages by the British for the same reason but insisted that the communist link to the Chinese new villages was a historical fact.

He refused to retract his statement when asked by the speaker of parliament.

The Malays, who account for nearly 60 per cent of the country’s 33 million population, have long enjoyed special privileges as bumiputera, which loosely translates as sons of the soil, granting them perks such as university quotas, housing discounts and exclusive access to government-approved investment funds.

Last month, the federal government said it would work with Selangor state authorities to begin the process of nominating several Chinese new villages for Unesco recognition to preserve their “unique” heritage and promote history and culture through tourism of Malaysian Chinese, who comprise 23 per cent of the population.

Accounts describe the new villages as internment camps that strictly monitored the movement and activities of the ethnic Chinese to minimise their exposure to the PKM – once a key ally of the British during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in WWII.

The British launched a bloody campaign to stamp out the communists, declaring martial law in 1948. The emergency declaration extended into the Second Malayan Emergency that ran from 1968 to 1989, when a peace deal was brokered allowing PKM leaders safe passage to live in exile, some of whom chose to reside in Thailand.

Chin Peng, who headed the PKM over the entire period, died of cancer in a Bangkok hospital in 2013 at the age of 88.

South China Sea: Philippines accuses Beijing of ‘deliberately stirring up trouble’ in disputed waters

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254356/south-china-sea-philippines-accuses-beijing-deliberately-stirring-trouble-disputed-waters?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines on Wednesday accused China of “deliberately stirring up trouble” in the South China Sea.

Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson for a Manila task force on South China Sea, also said China is “maliciously inciting hype” while reiterating the Philippines will not be deterred from exercising its maritime rights.

He added the waterway was wide enough for both countries to peacefully coexist.

Malaya’s remarks came a day after the Philippines accused China’s coastguard of harassing, blocking and firing water cannon at Manila’s vessels carrying out a routine resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

The actions of China coastguard were “provocative,” illegal” and “unbecoming of a coastguard officer,” Malaya told a press conference.

Philippines can’t deny ‘shared DNA’ with China even as sea row sours ties: Marcos

The Philippine foreign ministry said it had summoned China’s deputy chief of mission in Manila on Tuesday to convey its protest and to demand that Chinese vessels immediately leave the vicinity of the Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila calls Ayungin.

“China’s interference with the Philippines’ routine and lawful activities in its own exclusive economic zone is unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement. “China’s actions in Ayungin Shoal infringes upon the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”

China laid the blame on Manila, saying Philippine ships had illegally intruded into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal – which it calls Renai Reef – so it had to take control measures.

The Chinese action was also condemned by the United States, the Philippines’ defence treaty ally.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the actions were “provocative” and showed “a reckless disregard by the PRC for the safety of Filipinos and also for international law”, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Miller, at a press briefing, said the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty, which requires Washington to support Manila in the event of an attack, extends to armed attacks on Philippine vessels anywhere in the South China Sea, but declined to say whether the treaty could be triggered by the latest incident.

“I will just say that the United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of these dangerous and unlawful actions,” Miller said.

All countries should refrain from unilateral actions in the South China Sea that endanger the disputed area’s peace, security and stability, Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said in a joint statement at the conclusion of a three-day summit in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“I am very concerned and Australia is concerned about any unsafe and destabilising behaviour in the South China Sea,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

French ‘Spider-Man’ scales GT tower to support Philippines’ South China Sea claims

The shoal is home to a small number of Filipino troops stationed on a rusting warship which Manila grounded there in 1999 to reinforce sovereignty claims.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes the Second Thomas Shoal, and has deployed vessels to patrol the disputed atoll which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Tuesday’s incident was the latest in a series of maritime run-ins between the Philippines and China, which have been locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which found that China’s claims had no legal basis. Beijing rejects that ruling.

Dating in China: statuesque woman told being tall is a disadvantage as mainland men prefer ‘cute and helpless-looking’ dates

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3253613/dating-china-statuesque-woman-told-being-tall-disadvantage-mainland-men-prefer-cute-and-helpless?utm_source=rss_feed

A statuesque woman in China was told by a man that she was too tall to date because mainland men prefer partners who are “cute and helpless-looking”.

Wang Xiaoqing is 173cm tall and hails from the Pearl River Delta Region in southeastern China, where the average height of a female is 159.7cm.

During her childhood, Wang often received compliments from classmates about her stature.

However, after she started dating, Wang’s perception of height underwent a “dramatic change”.

She was introduced to a man who was 180cm tall, and after adding her on WeChat, he immediately said: “If you were 170cm tall, your stature would be a bit large, and we wouldn’t quite match. I prefer someone who is more xiao niao yi ren.”

Xiao niao yi ren, which literally means “a small bird snuggling up to a person”, is used to describe women who are cute and helpless-looking.

In anger and frustration, Wang deleted the man from her friends list.

In 2023, China’s population of single people reached 240 million, and xiang qin, or blind dates, have become one of the main ways to find a partner.

Xiang qin is a traditional Chinese custom similar to Western matchmaking, where individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of a relationship and marriage.

In China, men use keywords such as petite, cute and gentle to describe their preferences for women.

Keywords that women often use to describe men include good character, emotionally stable, and handsome.

Chinese people share common requirements for appearance, education, and financial status when dating.

“Guys should be around 180cm tall and their education level shouldn’t be lower than mine,” said Evelyn Guo, a 24-year-old college student in Beijing.

“My sister introduced a girl to me, but she didn’t even add me on WeChat, because I don’t own a house or a car,” said Zhang Sicheng, a 30-year-old consultant in Shanghai.

However, being “over-qualified”, such as being too handsome or having too high an education level can also be a disadvantage.

“I tend to be cautious with handsome guys because they are usually playboys,” said Sophie, a 26-year-old bank manager in Wuhan in central China.

Maggie, a Shanghai-based designer who has been on three blind dates, said: “If the guy’s salary is much higher than mine, I may feel insecure, thinking I’m not good enough for him.”

Dating consultant, Xiao Yizi, said that having the right values, a stable income, and a good education remain mainstream in the Chinese dating market.

Xiao’s online course on Douyin, “Love formula: how to choose the right partner”, has over 120 million views.

In mainland China, the most ideal professions for partners are teachers, civil servants, and doctors, according to a romantic relationship outlook survey in 2023 on Xiaohongshu.

Meanwhile, law and computer science majors make up the largest chunk of single people.

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EU locks horns with China’s envoy on Ukraine, as schisms on war remain

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3254311/eu-locks-horns-chinas-envoy-ukraine-schisms-war-remain?utm_source=rss_feed

European Union officials have clashed with the Chinese special envoy for Ukraine during talks in Brussels, indicating a wide gulf remains between the two sides about the war, now in its third year.

In a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday, EU representatives were treated to a “full dose of Moscow’s talking points” from Li Hui, Beijing’s special envoy to Eurasia, according to several people familiar with the talks.

Li, who landed in the Belgian capital direct from Russia on Monday, will travel to Warsaw and then Kyiv, where sources said he is expected on Thursday. He is then scheduled to loop back to Paris and Berlin afterwards.

The Chinese diplomat’s mission, according to his ministry, is to “mediate and build consensus” on a war which is estimated to have cost hundreds of thousands of lives since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but is seen by the US and its European allies to have sided with Russia.

Over a long dinner meeting on Monday night followed by discussions on Tuesday, these suspicions were, in the minds of multiple EU sources, confirmed.

Li was seen mainly to have echoed the Kremlin’s points of view, telling EU officials that no discussion on Ukraine’s territorial integrity would take place until the violence stops – which, he said, could only happen when the EU stops sending weapons to Ukraine.

He told the EU to stop sanctioning Chinese companies, because they may be needed for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. Last month, three Chinese trading companies were blacklisted by Brussels for allegedly funnelling goods made in Europe to the Russian military.

In a short account of Monday’s meeting, China’s foreign ministry said Li “firmly opposes the EU’s inclusion of Chinese companies in the latest sanctions list against Russia, and urges the EU to unconditionally cancel Chinese companies on the list”.

Macron urges Ukraine’s allies not to be ‘cowards’

According to the sources, Li told EU officials that the Russian economy was thriving and that Putin was riding high in opinion polls.

Punching back, one member of the European side told Li that if you “murder all the opposition, your ratings would also be high”, referring to the recent death of Alexei Navalny.

The Europeans warned that, despite headwinds, the bloc’s support for Ukraine would be unwavering, and that China’s backing of Russia’s talking points would continue to be ruinous for bilateral relations.

People involved said that Li’s positions had not changed since his last European tour in May 2023, when he brought China’s 12-point proposal for ending the war to the same capitals.

In this regard, there is a residual feeling among Brussels sources that the tour is a way of “de-risking China’s relationship with Russia” – by being seen to engage with Ukraine and its allies – rather than an effort to end the conflict.

Li can expect to hear similar messages in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw, the sources said, with efforts behind the scenes in Europe to ensure they are on the same page.

The EU representatives reiterated demands for Beijing to take practical measures to prove it is not siding with Russia, such as helping to secure the return of Ukrainian children transported to Russia, or ensuring the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which has been occupied by Russian forces.

The Chinese mission to the EU did not respond to an interview request.

Death toll from Russia strike in Odesa rises to 12 as China envoy tours Moscow

The meetings took place as Ukraine struggles militarily, losing ground to Russian forces and pushing Western allies to move more quickly to replenish depleted ammunition stocks.

European allies have bogged down in arguments about the nature and cost of the support they are providing. And in the US, a military aid bill has stalled in the House of Representatives, even as former president Donald Trump, who might pull back support for Kyiv, campaigns for re-election against Joe Biden, the White House incumbent.

With this backdrop, Ukraine has been bolstering its engagement with Beijing. The two nations’ foreign ministers met last month on the sidelines of a security summit in Munich, and Li’s trip to Kyiv this week will be his second since the war broke out.

“The tides of war have been changing, and that puts Ukraine under more pressure with regards to outreach to players that could have an impact or an influence such as China,” said Roderick Kefferputz, an expert on Sino-Russian relations and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“At the same time, it makes China a lot more comfortable with this situation. Because their … ‘little brother’ is doing better than it was not too long ago,” he said, referring to Russia as the junior partner in its relations with China.

During the meetings in Brussels, Li reeled off a series of gains the Russian military had made and referred to Trump’s potential return.

The sources also said that Li had met with Swiss diplomats in Brussels, amid speculation that Switzerland would host a new round of Kyiv-endorsed talks before the summer.

Asked by the EU if Beijing would take part in Kyiv-backed multilateral talks on the conflict, Li was said to have demurred, contending that China was worried the conference would “produce a plan that is pushed down the Russians’ throat”, according to a source.

Hong Kong should use its ‘super roles’ to help China become financial powerhouse, top Beijing official in city says

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3254342/hong-kong-should-use-its-super-roles-help-china-become-financial-powerhouse-top-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong has called on the city to draw on its “super roles” as an international financial centre to gather capital, as well as connect with and support investors to help the country become a financial powerhouse.

The call from Zheng Yanxiong, director of the central government’s liaison office in the city, echoed an earlier one from Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who used his work report to urge Hong Kong to “play to its distinctive strengths” and take on an active role in better integrating with national development.

“Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre is not only the city’s signature, but also a precious asset and an important component in the country’s efforts to become a financial powerhouse,” Zheng said on Tuesday afternoon.

The top official issued the call to action at a meeting in Beijing with Hong Kong delegates from the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, as they reviewed Li’s report.

“Hong Kong is a ‘super treasure bowl’ that gathers international financial capital, a ‘superconnector’ that aligns international financial rules and also a ‘super support point’ that manages external financial relations,” the liaison office chief said.

Zheng also stressed that finance was the lifeblood of the country’s economy, a crucial element in building a strong nation.

Citing President Xi Jinping’s repeated calls for Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial centre, Zheng urged the city to “be energised, astute and take action” in deepening global financial cooperation, preventing and resolving related risks, as well as boosting its competitiveness and the confidence of international investors.

He also called on the city to be more proactive in promoting innovation-driven growth during a period of historic opportunities brought on by the country’s quest for high-quality development and supported by “new quality productive forces”.

The phrase, which appeared for the first time in a work report from the central government, refers to the use of technological innovation to drive productivity.

Zheng said Hong Kong was a fertile ground for developing such forces as it had the foundation, conditions, unique advantages and practical need for them. He also urged the city not to miss such an opportunity.

Chinese premier urges Hong Kong to ‘play to its strengths’ under bay area plan

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant with Beijing’s semi-official think tank, the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said that finance made up the bulk of the city’s contributions to the country.

The analyst suggested Hong Kong could play to its super roles by providing more financial products in its stock and bond markets to help internationalise the renminbi – part of an effort by the country to better address global financial risks.

Hong Kong should also take the initiative and liaise with more countries eyed by China in its plan to strengthen regional cooperation, he said.

Lau cited the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free-trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea as an example.

Attendees at Tuesday’s meeting also included officials from the country’s General Administration of Customs, the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, the General Office of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, as well as the Ministry of Finance.

With no spy concerns and tariffs, BYD and other Chinese EVs race ahead in Australia

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3254340/no-spy-concerns-and-tariffs-byd-and-other-chinese-evs-race-ahead-australia?utm_source=rss_feed

BYD and other Chinese carmakers are bringing new electric car models in droves to Australia, a market where they haven’t faced trade barriers and sales have surged due to EV subsidies and tax benefits as well as high petrol prices.

Since coming to power in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government has aggressively promoted EV adoption as part of the country’s plans to cut down on emissions – a change that came after a decade of weak climate action under conservative leaders.

That’s created a powerful tailwind for electric car demand. EVs accounted for 7.2 per cent of Australian new car sales in 2023, up from 3.1 per cent a year earlier.

While Tesla too is greatly benefiting, it is the Chinese manufacturers in the non-premium end of the market which pose the biggest threat to incumbent carmakers like Toyota and Ford whose wide line-ups of petrol-engine cars mean they have more to lose.

Last year, sales for EV giant BYD, which entered the market in 2022, climbed nearly six times to more than 12,000 vehicles. It now has 14 per cent of Australia’s EV market, second to Tesla which has 53 per cent, data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows.

EV boom unlikely to ease Asia’s resource vulnerability, analysts warn

“The opportunity is very clear,” said David Smitherman, chief executive at EVDirect, BYD’s distributor in Australia.

“We need to now get into the mainstream market because we’ve sold to the early adopters and the passionate EV purchasers.”

BYD will add two SUVs and a pickup truck to take its product line-up in Australia to six this year, Smitherman said. EVDirect will also open 30 more dealerships in the next 18 months for total of a 55 and has embarked on fleet sales to companies like Uber.

Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor will launch three new models this year under its MG brand, including the MG3 plug-in hybrid and MG Cyberstar electric roadster, taking its EV/hybrid product line-up in Australia to five.

Incumbent carmakers are also looking to up their game. Ford has two electrified vehicles in the Australian market and another three on their way, according a company spokesperson.

Toyota has just launched its first electric car, which joins its nine hybrids in Australia in offering lower emissions than comparable petrol-engine vehicles. It is confident in its strategy of providing a wide range of hybrids and steadily increasing battery electric cars, it said.

Although Australia is a relatively small market on a global scale with 1.2 million cars sold last year, it’s highly attractive to Chinese carmakers given that it does not have a car manufacturing industry and is seen as unlikely to introduce protectionist trade barriers.

Chinese start-up Leapmotor, which has partnered with Stellantis to expand globally, has designated Australia as a priority market noting its lack of local car makers.

In key markets, tensions abound. European authorities have launched a probe into whether Chinese EV makers unfairly benefit from state subsidies, while the US has launched an investigation into whether Chinese-made cars could be used to spy on Americans.

But relations between Canberra and Beijing have warmed after years of tensions, with both sides agreeing to turn the page and expand cooperation. Albanese’s government has not given any sign it is worried about cybersecurity risks posed by Chinese cars.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declined to comment on the matter.

In Southeast Asia’s EV race, domestic markets face a long and winding road

To spur electric car demand, the government has introduced tax exemptions for EV car leasing/purchase agreements available to some consumers through their employers.

The country’s three most populous biggest states – home to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – have also set goals for EVs to account for 50 per cent of all new car sales by 2030, giving generous rebates on EV purchases and investing heavily to build charging stations.

That was a major motivating factor for Mark Adamson, a 61-year-old TV director in the state of Queensland. He gained A$6,000 (US$3,900) off the A$54,000 retail price of his extended range BYD Atto 3 SUV through state government rebates and then BYD offered a discount of roughly A$2,000.

“I figured why not give it a go? It’s sort of really worth doing and I have excess solar at home so I’ll mainly charge from at home, so it makes it a no-brainer in a lot of ways,” he said.

Indeed in Queensland, state government rebates alone mean that an Atto 3 can cost less than Toyota’s petrol-engine RAV4 crossover – a comparable model.

For Sydney union organiser Peter Alley, 63, who drives out once a week to see family who live 370km (230 miles) away, it was the need to cut down on petrol costs near record highs that persuaded him to switch from a 2008 Volkswagen diesel van to an Atto 3.

He now spends about A$20 per week on charging instead of $130 a week on fuel.

Expectations are high that EV demand will continue to surge, although forecasts vary. PwC estimates half of Australia’s new car sales will be EVs by 2027. Fitch Ratings predicts 18 per cent by 2032.

US blocks AMD from selling AI chip tailored for China without licence: sources

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3254327/us-blocks-amd-selling-ai-chip-tailored-china-without-licence-sources?utm_source=rss_feed

US officials have told Advanced Micro Devices that the artificial intelligence (AI) chip it tailored for the Chinese market is too powerful to sell without a licence, ensnaring another American semiconductor company in Washington’s crackdown on exports of advanced technologies.

AMD had hoped to gain a green light from the US Commerce Department to sell the AI processor to Chinese customers since it performs at a lower level than what the company sells outside China, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

But US officials told AMD it must still obtain a licence from Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security to sell it, the people said.

AMD did not have a comment and it is unclear whether the company is seeking a licence. The Bureau of Industry and Security declined to comment. AMD shares were down 2.2 per cent as markets opened in New York on Tuesday.

California rival Nvidia has also been continually downgrading its powerful AI chips destined for China in an attempt to pass muster with US officials – and their ever-tightening restrictions on chips – as Washington seeks to constrain one of its biggest geopolitical rivals.

The US has been working to limit Chinese access to cutting-edge semiconductors that can develop AI models – and the tools used to manufacture those chips – out of fear that Beijing will gain a military edge.

President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled an initial set of export controls in 2022 and strengthened them last October to include more technology and curb sales to intermediary nations that might undermine the ban.

The tighter controls restricted the sale of a processor that Nvidia had designed specifically for China – in compliance with the initial 2022 version of the export rules.

The company has since developed new customised, less-powerful products for the Chinese market to align with the 2023 restrictions, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said that she is looking into the specifics of those components.

The 2022 US ban prevented both Nvidia and AMD from selling their most powerful AI chips to China, forcing them to find workarounds. Nvidia immediately responded with a reduced-performance modified model, whereas AMD has not publicly discussed its efforts to develop a new AI processor for the country.

AMD had less of a foothold in the Chinese AI chip industry than Nvidia, which had a large share of that market before the ban. When the restrictions took effect in 2022, AMD said it did not expect to be materially affected by the rules.

Nvidia sampling alternative AI chips to China as US restrictions take a toll

But AMD is now going after the AI chip market more aggressively. In December, it launched a new MI300 line-up that will challenge processors from Nvidia.

The China-tailored product has been referred to as MI309, according to the people. It is not clear which Chinese customer was trying to buy the AMD AI chips. That factor could influence whether the company is able to secure a licence, should the chip maker choose to move forward.

Leading Chinese tech firms, including Tencent Holdings and Baidu, have said they have stockpiled enough powerful chips from Nvidia – the types that are now subject to US controls – to advance their chatbots’ capabilities for another year or two.

Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies is developing its own AI semiconductors and chip-making capability that could eventually help Chinese companies fill the gap created by the US ban.

‘Two sessions’ 2024: Xi Jinping says while China pursues ‘new productive forces’ it must avoid economic bubbles

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3254306/two-sessions-2024-xi-jinping-says-while-china-pursues-new-productive-forces-it-must-avoid-economic?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Tuesday that the promotion of new productive forces as growth catalysts must not give rise to economic bubbles or unfettered expansion as Beijing seeks to build momentum in solidifying the nation’s recovery.

“In the face of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, we must seize opportunities, increase innovation, cultivate and expand emerging industries, and plan future industries in advance,” Xi told his fellow deputies in the Jiangsu Province delegation during a panel discussion, following the opening of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress.

However, Xi warned, “we must prevent local rush and oppose irrational, blind investments that create bubbles”.

He also noted that “promoting new productive forces doesn’t mean neglecting or giving up traditional industries”.

Beijing is devoted to upgrading China’s economy and pushing it ahead in the global hi-tech race, but overcapacity issues have already drawn responses from the European Union and the United States.

Directions by Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, are often followed by thorough local implementation.

Developing new productive forces – along with modernising industrial systems – has been prioritised as China’s No 1 task this year in the annual government work report, which Premier Li Qiang delivered at the opening of the annual legislative session on Tuesday.

Introduced by Xi in September to highlight the country’s economic and tech upgrade, “new productive forces” has become a catchphrase in local government documents and state media.

Risks ahead but China’s economy to stay on long-term, tech-led course

Jiangsu is China’s second-largest provincial economy after Guangdong, with last year’s gross domestic product hitting 12.82 trillion yuan (US$1.78 trillion), known for its exports, advanced manufacturing, clusters of new industries including solar and new energy vehicles as well as a thriving private economy.

The eastern province’s export of the “new three products” – electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels – grew 12.3 per cent year on year to 194.9 billion yuan (US$27.09 billion) in 2023, ranking first among all provinces and regions. Its EV exports alone surged 360 per cent last year.

But the province is also grappling with overcapacity issues in its solar and other new energy sectors.

At the panel discussion, Xi heard the speeches of six delegates, including Gao Jifan, founder and chairman of Trina Solar, and Cui Tiejun, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor with Southeast University’s School of Information Science and Engineering. Their proposals covered China’s solar sector and tech self-reliance respectively, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Xi said that no single business model should be imposed on new productive forces, citing the need to take local conditions – resources, industrial foundations and scientific research capability – into consideration. He also said that traditional industries, which still account for a majority of industrial output, should not be given up.

His stance is in line with the tone-setting central economic work conference, where leaders vowed to “establish the new before abolishing the old”.

Xi’s warning also marked the highest-level response to growing concerns about overcapacity, which is becoming increasingly pronounced in some industries in China.

The European Union has already started an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, and the US has launched one citing national security concerns.

Avoid harmful ‘blind investments’ in China’s digital economy, delegate says

Xi also cautioned against the numerous obstacles impeding China’s industrial upgrades.

“We must also reform science and technology systems, education systems and talent systems to break through the points choking the development of new productive forces,” he said.

The Chinese president reiterated support for the private sector, a key contributor to the national economic output through its taxes, tech innovation and urban jobs.

[World] Trump or Biden: Who does China’s Communist Party want?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68483432With Super Tuesday underway in the US, the BBC asks China's elite who they want to win this year's election.

[Business] iPhone China sales slide as Huawei soars - report

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68486928

Australian defence official warns Washington audience about military tech innovation gap with China, Russia

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254316/australian-defence-official-warns-washington-audience-about-military-tech-innovation-gap-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Australia and the US must bolster their industrial cooperation to be better prepared to face evolving threats in the Indo-Pacific region, a high-ranking Australian defence official said on Monday.

Hugh Jeffrey, Australia’s Deputy Defence Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Industry, commended his US counterparts for their assessment that the military-industrial architecture developed during the Cold War is not adequate for today’s challenges.

Speaking in a livestream from Canberra in an event hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, he welcomed the Biden administration’s efforts to engage with Canberra to address risks in the region and used the occasion to call for Washington to clear regulatory impediments to the full implementation of the Aukus alliance.

“Russia and China are outpacing the US and its allies” in some areas of military innovation, Jeffrey said. “Our ability to co-innovate, co-invest, and co-produce [defence technology] today will determine who wins the battle for military advantage tomorrow.

“My view is that the consensus has emerged on both sides of the Pacific on this issue, that we do need to change things up,” Jeffrey said, adding that Aukus will play a pivotal role.

Announced in 2021, the alliance will give the Australian defence industry the capacity to build nuclear submarines and replace its diesel-powered vessels. The strategy is widely seen as an attempt to contain the advances of the Chinese navy in the region, especially in the South China Sea.

In December, the US Congress passed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which, among other things, provides support for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine programme and includes both countries in the US Defence Production Act, which regulates the allocation of funds for the American military industry.

Australia wants Japan’s ‘cutting edge’ tech for Aukus – but not just yet

Under the NDAA, the Department of Defence was formally authorised to transfer three Virginia-class submarines. The Act also allowed Australian contractors to train in US shipyards and established a mechanism for Washington to accept funds from Canberra to boost its submarine industrial base, besides adding a national exemption from US export control licensing requirements.

However, challenges to fully implement all Aukus pillars remain. The Biden administration and Defence Department have until mid-April to determine whether Australia and Britain have put in place export-control systems for defence equipment compliant with US standards.

Both American allies have implemented legislative reforms to achieve certification, but they have not yet been finalised due to pressure from some lawmakers, researchers and local media.

For instance, Australian scholars have raised concerns to the government about the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill introduced last year by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to comply with Washington’s regulations.

Many have argued the prime minister’s proposal jeopardises research collaboration by severely restricting the sharing of information with foreign researchers, including those in Australia.

“[It] will create a level of uncertainty and doubt about how changes to Australia’s defence trade controls framework... will impact Australia’s research collaborations with countries outside of the trilateral agreement,” the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering wrote in a joint statement in November.

Jeffrey acknowledged the concerns in his address on Tuesday, but emphasised that the legislation aims to broaden collaboration with other nations once licenses are granted, facilitating “the responsible transfer of controlled goods and technology.”

He also assured that Canberra has no intention of restricting foreign students or academics from participating in research with Australian institutions.

“The bill is designed to prevent sensitive defence goods and technologies from being passed to foreign actors in a manner that may harm Australia’s interests (...) We want to control only what has to be controlled for security reasons, nothing else,” he said.

Final Pentagon bill features Taiwan, Aukus and counters to China’s influence

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is awaiting approval for the US$95 billion national security supplemental budget, which includes US$3.3 billion in Aukus funding.

The supplemental budget has already been approved by the Senate, but it needs to be put to a vote in the House of Representatives.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated that any additional funding package for international military cooperation will only be voted on if it includes measures to address the US-Mexico border crisis.

In February, the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control, Bonnie Jenkins, told a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing that funding for the ambitious project to expand and modernise the US submarine industry was essential.

“We need to pass a supplemental [budget] because of all the things in here, including Aukus, that shows the US wants to continue to be a leader,” Jenkins said.

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Suffering China shrapnel girl, 11, with 23 shot fragments lodged in body 8 years after being gunned down by neighbour seeks fresh police probe

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3253792/suffering-china-shrapnel-girl-11-23-shot-fragments-lodged-body-8-years-after-being-gunned-down?utm_source=rss_feed

The family of an 11-year-old girl in China who lives with shotgun shrapnel embedded in her body has asked the police to reopen the investigation into the “accidental” shooting.

Eight years ago, while just a toddler, the girl, known as Xiaotong, from Yunnan province in the southwest of the country, was shot by a neighbour, according to the news outlet New Yellow River.

The shooter, surnamed Zhou, was 22 years old at the time and told police that he had borrowed the shotgun from his friend and was checking the weapon, which he had never used before.

He said he carelessly pulled the trigger, thinking he could not hit Xiaotong, who was several metres away.

Shotguns contain metal pellets called “shots” and spray metal balls over a wide range when fired. A total of 27 of the shots hit Xiaotong, and she was rushed to the hospital.

Doctors were able to remove four pellets and some additional shrapnel from the girl’s head and spine. They could not extract the other 23 pieces scattered in her lung, back, leg and kidney due to Xiaotong’s tender age.

The girl’s family reported the case to the police in 2017, and Zhou was briefly detained.

However, police dropped the case in 2019, saying Zhou fired the gun by accident and Xiaotong’s injuries were deemed not serious enough for a harsher penalty.

However, the girl has struggled in the eight years since the accident.

“The metal pellets are distributed across Xiaotong’s body. When it rains or the temperature drops dramatically, her wounds ache and she will often cry from the pain,” her brother, using the alias Xiaohui, told the mainland media outlet New Yellow River.

The youngster struggles to exercise and her breathing is impaired by the shrapnel, which negatively impacts her disposition.

“We have had to consider her mood carefully through the years,” said Xiaohui.

In January, the long-term impact of the shooting prompted the family to ask the police to reopen the case.

After paying 50,000 yuan (US$7,000) towards the girl’s medical bills, Zhou has refused to provide more money, pleading poverty.

Xiaotong said her only wish is for her family to be able to afford more surgery to remove the remaining fragments from her body.

“I hope I can eventually grow up healthy like other children my age,” she said.

US to Investigate Chinese-made ‘Smart’ Cars

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-to-investigate-chinese-made-smart-cars/7513102.html

President Joe Biden’s administration says it will investigate Chinese-made “smart cars” as possible security risks.

The administration says the cars can gather important information about Americans driving them. The investigation could lead to new regulations. The new rules might prevent China from using the latest technology in cars. Officials say they are concerned that features like driver assistance technology could be used to collect information on Americans.

The administration is not proposing to ban imports of Chinese smart cars. But Biden said he is taking steps to protect Americans’ data.

“China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security,” Biden said in a statement Thursday.

The proposed investigation is the latest action by the Biden administration related to what officials consider the growing threat from China. For example, Biden signed an executive order late last month. It requires the Department of Justice to create new rules to protect “government-related” data about individuals.

Biden and other officials also noted that China has put in place some restrictions on American cars and other foreign vehicles.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said connected cars “are like smartphones on wheels” and are a serious national security risk.

“These vehicles are connected to the internet. They collect huge amounts of sensitive data on the drivers,” she told reporters recently.

Data collection is not the only concern, she and other officials said. Connected vehicles could also be remotely used or controlled.

Raimondo said, “It’s scary to contemplate the cyber risks (and) espionage risks that these” have.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that Biden's actions "are discriminatory practices clearly targeted at certain countries.”

The United States imports few Chinese cars partly because the U.S. places high taxes on vehicles imported from China. But officials are concerned that taxes are not enough. Some Chinese companies avoid U.S. taxes by setting up factories in countries such as Mexico.

The Commerce Department will seek information from the auto industry and the public about the risks and possible steps to reduce them, the administration said. Officials will then develop possible regulations to govern the use of technology in vehicles from China and other "countries of concern,'' including Russia and Iran.

“We’re doing it now, before Chinese manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our privacy and our national security,'' Raimondo said.

Electric vehicles and other cars increasingly use computer technologies to operate navigational tools and to provide driver-assistance features. Computers also are used to reduce operating costs and carbon emissions, the administration said. The cars connect to personal devices, other cars, U.S. infrastructure and their manufacturer. The Biden administration said that creates national security risks.

The administration of former President Donald Trump put in place high import taxes on many Chinese products. Biden continued those policies. They have effectively prevented Chinese automakers from entering the U.S. market. But U.S. officials and industry leaders worry that Chinese companies might choose to accept the additional costs as China increases its export push. Chinese car makers also aim to build more vehicles overseas. For example, electric vehicle company BYD announced plans last year for its first European factory in Hungary.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents major carmakers and technology manufacturers around the world. It said it supports Biden's goal to protect public safety but also warned of interfering with low-risk exchanges such as “safety technologies essential to vehicles on the road today.”

The European Union is also concerned about rising imports from China. The EU opened a trade investigation last year into Chinese government support for its electric vehicle industry. The investigation is ongoing.

I’m Dan Novak.

 

Matthew Daly reported this story for the Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English with information from primary sources.

_______________________________________________

Words in This Story

regulation — n. laws or rules put in place by a government on how an activity should be done

feature –n. a part of a product that is considered extra, desirable and makes that version of the produce more costly than simpler ones

pose –v. to present or to be something

remote — adj. done from a distance

contemplate — v. to think about something

cyber –adj. related to computers and the internet especially to security of information

espionage — n. the activity of spying

practice –n. an activity that is done regularly or as a matter of policy

emission — n. a gas released from a process

infrastructure — n. structures, such as ones linked to transportation like roads, which are needed to have a modern society

essential –adj. very important

Outgoing US climate envoy John Kerry says he will stay involved, hopes to maintain dialogue with Chinese counterpart

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254309/outgoing-us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-says-he-will-stay-involved-hopes-maintain-dialogue-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed

US special climate envoy John Kerry praised China’s climate commitments and emphasised the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy during his farewell tour of Washington.

Kerry is leaving his cabinet-level position on Wednesday after three years, but said on Tuesday that he was not leaving the climate fight. Instead, he will remain “deeply involved” and redirect his attention to mobilising private capital to help the clean energy transition.

He also said he hoped he and his former Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua would continue to talk.

Kerry – a former secretary of state, senator and Democratic presidential nominee – made his mark in recent years by engaging Beijing on climate at a time of tense relations. The bilateral climate agreement reached at Sunnylands in November before the US and Chinese leaders’ summit helped catalyse the unprecedented “Dubai consensus” between nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels.

According to Kerry, Xie, who retired this year at 74, will continue working through his alma mater, Tsinghua University. Kerry, 80, plans to stay involved through his own alma mater, Yale University, which he said would hopefully allow him to keep talking with Xie.

“We’re going to try to see if we can stay together as ‘citizens emeritus’ and do some constructive work,” he said on Tuesday, noting that he has had transition talks with his and Xie’s successors, John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin.

Kerry and Xie are known for their close personal relationship forged over almost two decades – one that for the most part helped transcend the ideological battles between their countries.

The effort to avert climate change, though a shared goal between the US and China, has not been immune to geopolitics. In recent years, the US has imposed duties and sanctions on Chinese solar imports because of concerns about forced labour in the supply chain and abiding compliance to tariff regimes put in place by former US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua steps down, as diplomat Liu Zhenmin takes helm

And in 2022, in response to then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Beijing suspended a bilateral working group focused on climate.

But Kerry and Xie were key to getting talks restarted. In identical statements issued in November, Beijing and Washington revived the working group and expressed support for the global target to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The world’s two biggest carbon emitters also agreed to economy-wide climate targets for 2035 and acknowledged the aim to reduce “post-peaking” absolute emissions in the 2020s for their power sectors.

Kerry praised such commitments by China on Friday, calling them “big movement forward”.

He also noted that China was the biggest producer and deployer of renewable energy, larger than the rest of the world put together.

“Relationships matter,” Kerry said on Friday, recounting negotiations with Xie that went on until “the wee hours” around the world leading up to the Sunnylands agreement.

Kerry also highlighted how Xie brought his wife and 10-year-old grandson to meet him at Cop28 in Dubai late last year. “That’s how personal they’ve got, and that’s, in my judgment, folks, how you can actually get things done,” he said.

Is this really the end of the fossil-fuel era? Cop28 hails a historic transition

Asked why he is leaving the world of Track 1 diplomacy despite his successes, Kerry said Tuesday that after helping set the government-level road map for climate, his logical next step is to help the private sector implement such guidelines.

Kerry added that he believes the structures he has helped set in place will sustain official US-China climate cooperation after his departure.

In any case, he will not be straying too far from official venues. “I will be at the COP, I’ll be at the [Our Ocean] Conference,” he said on Tuesday. “As a private citizen, I still expect to be deeply involved.”

China makes science and tech a budget priority with 10% jump in spending

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3254290/china-makes-science-and-tech-budget-priority-10-jump-spending?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing will boost investment in science and technology by 10 per cent this year as it tries to transform the economy and deal with constraints imposed by the West.

That amounts to 379.8 billion yuan (US$52.7 billion) of spending, according to the finance ministry’s draft budget report released during the annual legislative sessions in Beijing on Tuesday.

Science and technology has taken on unprecedented significance in this year’s budget, with the largest percentage increase of any major area of government spending – more than diplomacy, public security, education and defence – and it marks a big jump from last year’s 2 per cent rise.

But it is far less than China’s overall spend on research and development – from government and the private sector – which surpassed 3.3 trillion yuan last year, according to Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun.

In dollar terms, China is the world’s second biggest spender on research and development after the United States.

While there were budget constraints affecting other sectors, science and tech would continue to see “guaranteed expenditure” because of its pivotal role in driving China’s development, according to the finance ministry.

Premier Li Qiang said ultra-long special treasury bonds would be issued annually to fund critical national strategies and boost security capabilities in vital research and development areas. This year 1 trillion yuan worth of the bonds will be issued.

The aim was to “systematically address funding shortages facing some major projects for building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation”, Li said in his government work report.

Science and tech has emerged as one of Beijing’s priorities amid a push for technological self-reliance to counter efforts by Western powers to restrict China’s access to cutting-edge technologies.

“The external environment has increasingly impacted on China’s development,” Li said, citing factors including geopolitical conflict and protectionism.

“We should give full rein to the leading role of innovation, spur industrial innovation by making innovations in science and technology and press ahead with new industrialisation.”

Risks ahead but China’s economy to stay on long-term, tech-led course

The work report identified emerging areas such as biomanufacturing and commercial space flight to serve as new growth engines.

It also highlighted the importance of revitalising China through science and education, and laying a solid foundation for “high-quality development” by investing in training and mobilising resources to boost innovation.

That was also reflected in the National Development and Reform Commission’s draft plan for economic and social development for 2024. It identified modernising the industrial system through innovation as a top priority among its 10 key tasks.

The NDRC plan calls for a comprehensive approach to do this – by providing support for basic research, pooling resources to achieve breakthroughs in critical technologies, and fostering emerging industrial clusters.

The finance ministry said it would lean towards “basic research, applied basic research and tasks that are strategically important for the country” in allocating spending for science and technology.

Some 98 billion yuan has been earmarked for basic research, an increase of 13.1 per cent from 2023.

More money will also be spent on nurturing and attracting talent, including strengthening support for young researchers and giving leading scientists greater control over resources.

Science and Technology Minister Yin told reporters that total expenditure on research and development in 2023 was up 8.1 per cent from the previous year and accounted for 2.64 per cent of GDP.

The investment was paying off, according to Yin. He said Chinese scientists were making progress in fields such as quantum information, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence and biomedicine.

The minister also noted the “impressive” growth in exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells.

Sun Yutao, a professor with Dalian University of Technology’s School of Economics and Management, said the continued investment in science and technology despite the sluggish economy suggested it was a priority area.

And despite the external pressures, Sun believed the focus on science and tech was being driven more by domestic factors.

“China is undergoing a structural upgrade of its economy,” he said. “To propel a new leap forward in productivity, scientific and technological innovations are the key driving force.”

China’s defence budget signals military readiness, not imminent war, experts say

That view was echoed by Mu Rongping, director general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Centre for Innovation and Development. He said the growth in spending on science and technology would have a far-reaching impact on China’s long-term development.

“Emerging, fundamental and strategic innovations entail higher risks and therefore require more substantial investment from the central government,” Mu said, adding that more funding would also follow from local governments and the private sector.

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Mainland China’s extension of Hong Kong solo visitor scheme generates lukewarm response in target cities Xian and Qingdao

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3254149/mainland-chinas-extension-hong-kong-solo-visitor-scheme-generates-lukewarm-response-target-cities?utm_source=rss_feed

The extension of the solo visitor scheme to Hong Kong to the mainland Chinese cities of Xian and Qingdao has generated a lukewarm response.

Residents in the two mainland cities predicted the change would not drive more traffic to Hong Kong as the present arrangements were not much different and travel agents said there had been no jump in bookings.

Hundreds of social media users took to the X-like online networking tool Weibo and mainland version of Instagram Xiaohongshu to question the need for the new policy and highlighted that individual travellers who held group tour visas had made independent trips to Hong Kong for years.

“I don’t understand the difference and significance of granting individual visas in cities that were previously restricted to group visas,” one post on Xiaohongshu said. “Unless the multi-entry visa is granted, it seems like an unnecessary step.

“Essentially, nationwide group visa holders can travel independently to Hong Kong and Macau, with only a difference in the visa name.”

But another post said: “[This policy] is intended to legitimise [independent travel].”

The scheme will be extended on Wednesday, but travel agents in the two cities told the Post there had not been a major surge in queries for travel to Hong Kong after the new arrangements were announced last month and no promotions were planned as it was not the summer or winter peak seasons.

The National Immigration Administration of China on February 23 announced that tourists from Xian and Qingdao could apply for individual visits to Hong Kong with various visa options – a three-month single-entry or double-entry visa, or a one-year single-entry or double-entry visa.

The maximum stay allowed in Hong Kong is seven days per visit.

These conditions are the same as those for the group visa listed on the immigration agency’s website.

While there was no elaboration on the website as to whether travellers could use this permit to go to Hong Kong independently, some mainland media reports in 2017 and 2018 said all mainlanders could visit Hong Kong with a valid group visa without requiring to be part of a tour group.

The Individual Visit Scheme, implemented in 2003, already covers 49 mainland cities, including 21 in Guangdong province and first-tier ones such as Beijing and Shanghai.

The inclusion of Xian and Qingdao was the first time the list of eligible cities has been updated since 2007.

The scheme allows people living in the selected cities to visit Hong Kong on their own rather than as part of tour groups.

Xian resident Amanda Zuo just wrapped up a solo tour to Hong Kong two weeks ago, using an “L”-type group visa permit.

“It took me less than two minutes to get the group visa at a self-service machine and I smoothly passed the Shenzhen-Hong Kong customs alone,” the 23-year-old said.

Wu Lin, from the China Travel Agency in Xian, said there had not been a significant increase in the number of inquiries for visits to Hong Kong after the announcement of the expansion.

“It doesn’t make a significant difference and the level of inquiries for Hong Kong and Macau visits has remained relatively unchanged,” he added.

‘Beijing to make it easier for mainland China solo travellers to visit Hong Kong’

A staff member at the China Travel Agency in Qingdao, who identified herself only as Li, said she did not expect the inclusion of the city in the solo traveller scheme to boost visits to Hong Kong.

The decisive factor for tourists’ choice of destination was resources on offer such as attractions and local culture, and Hong Kong was not rich in this area, she argued.

Li said one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong was Disneyland, but many mainland tourists would opt for the one in Shanghai instead.

She added that, until recently, there were just a few direct flights from Qingdao to Hong Kong and that ticket promotions by airlines were a major selling point for tourists.

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is to boost the flight capacity to and from the two cities from the end of the month.

The service to Xian will increase from three return flights a week to five, which will add about 800 seats a week to the route.

Bigger aircraft will be used for the once-a-day return flight to Qingdao, which will increase seats by about 360 a week.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board said 175,000 visitors arrived from Xian and 93,000 from Qingdao in 2018, before the pandemic struck. The corresponding figures for last year were 112,000 and 84,000, despite the reopening of the border.

Hong Kong leader welcomes move to expand solo traveller scheme to Xian, Qingdao

Asked about the difference between the new solo and existing group permit, a board spokesman said there were advantages to the former. He said the Individual Visit Scheme was “clearer, more flexible and convenient” compared with present arrangements.

“It is believed that the two cities, having a population of more 10 million each, will bring more high value-added overnight tourists to Hong Kong,” the spokesman added.

“We expect closer connections between the residents in Hong Kong and those in Xian and Qingdao. The cultural integration and people to people bonds between the two places is expected to be further strengthened.”

The board added it had put up posts on mainland social media to publicise the expansion of the scheme to the two cities and would step up promotions in both.

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said it had nothing to add to its earlier statement, which noted that the expansion would allow people from both cities to “explore and feel the unique metropolitan glamour of Hong Kong in a more flexible and convenient manner”.

Ricky Tse Kam-ting, founding president of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association, welcomed the expansion and insisted it was “a gift to Hong Kong”.

Tse predicted it would increase the number of overnight tourists and stimulate recovery in several sectors, including the food and drinks industry, hotels, and the aviation sector.

The board has forecast 46 million people will visit Hong Kong in 2024, 35 per cent more than last year, but still only 70 per cent of the 65 million who flocked to the city in 2018.