• Leader of a US Pacific territory tells of ‘lonely’ pivot away from China amid a dire economic crunch
• Chinese President Xi Jinping warns Dutch leader Mark Rutte not to put up barriers after ban on chip technology exports
• Chinese social media platform Weibo removes fake images showing a rapidly ageing Tencent founder Pony Ma
• Apple’s iPhone shipments slumped in February, highlighting why CEO Tim Cook went on a charm offensive in China
• Long-delayed China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ summit needed ‘as soon as possible’ as countries face ‘polycrisis’
• How Germany is reshaping the world in era of US-China rivalry
• China’s home-grown C929 widebody passenger jet enters ‘crucial’ development stage amid Beijing’s aviation push
• US should not ‘oppress and contain’ China, globalisation facing ‘headwinds’: top Beijing official
• China faces US$50 billion shortfall in Southeast Asia as belt and road funds miss their mark
• Mainland China says it will watch Taiwanese military exercises closely for signs of ‘provocation’
• China condemns Pakistan suicide bombing that killed 6, pledges to continue belt and road projects despite attacks
• China calls for ‘critical’ IMF reforms to mirror economic prowess, a collective Asian voice
• Man in China fails to find life partner after 20 blind dates, sees role reversed, helps more than 300 couples find love in 7 years
• ‘Shut up, idiot’: China actress Zhang Ziyi snaps back at netizen who claims she needs young actors to boost new film, gets 200 million views
• China’s moon programme: 3 satellites enter lunar orbit while fate of 2 that did not reach planned altitude is not clear
• Netizens mock British media claims of China propaganda link to Kate Middleton rumours
• Former China Olympic champion who homeschools children to allow more play time criticised for depriving them chance to socialise
• [Technology] European flying car technology sold to China
• Cathay Pacific’s budget carrier HK Express eyes mainland China for expansion, aims to boost capacity
• Vietnam minister credits ‘bamboo diplomacy’ for balancing nation’s relations with China and US
• South China Sea: Philippines must softly manage disputes or miss out economically
• China’s patent figures reveal it’s closing the gap on US quantum dominance
• US Trade Representative Katherine Tai denounces China for filing WTO complaint over EV subsidies
• Will Hong Kong’s new Octopus card be a ‘game changer’ for travellers to mainland China?
• WTO faults Australian inquiry into trade dispute with China
• Chinese rail company CRRC withdraws bid from Bulgarian public tender amid EU inquiry

Leader of a US Pacific territory tells of ‘lonely’ pivot away from China amid a dire economic crunch

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3256969/leader-us-pacific-territory-tells-lonely-pivot-away-china-amid-dire-economic-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed

“Sometimes I feel like John the Baptist out in the desert,” Arnold Palacios, the governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, declared recently in Washington.

Speaking not at a church service but at a think-tank discussion during a recent visit to the US capital, Palacios put his pivot away from China in doleful terms that underscore the dire economic times that he is trying to manage back home.

Drawing a parallel with the biblical prophet, the governor of the US territory added: “Seriously … that is how lonely it has been for the past nine to 10 months.”

Palacios took office last year, overseeing the US territory comprising 14 islands that share a maritime border with Japan in the Western Pacific Ocean. Saipan, its main island, lies about 2,700km (1,600 miles) east of Taiwan.

While the Northern Mariana Islands has a population of fewer than 50,000, it is home to American military bases vital to Washington’s strategic defence posture as Beijing raises its profile in the region.

The archipelago is unique for being the only place administered by the US that allows Chinese nationals to enter without a visa for up to 14 days.

The policy was introduced in 2005 to spur the tourism-driven economy. Tensions in the Sino-American relationship could end the waiver as early as September and be replaced by more stringent vetting of Chinese tourists.

To align more closely with US President Joe Biden’s stance towards China, Palacios has sought to reduce the territory’s reliance on the world’s second-largest economy.

US must bolster its shipbuilding ports as China keeps strengthening: analysts

But his efforts to disengage from Beijing following decades of deep economic ties reveal that the challenges confronting the Northern Mariana Islands mirror those Washington faces as it pushes policies such as “de-risking” and “friendshoring”.

The Northern Mariana Islands, some 6,000 thousand kilometres west of Honolulu, began forging ties with Beijing when the US and China formally established diplomatic relations in 1979. Several Chinese businesses established garment factories, bringing workers and economic activity.

After China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, however, that industry vanished as accession to the body gave the domestic apparel industry preferential tariff treatment. That prompted the territory’s turn to Chinese tourism and related investments that, at first, proved to be a panacea of sorts.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese nationals accounted for more than 40 per cent of all visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands, arriving on multiple direct flights weekly and bringing badly needed support for the local economy.

Guam’s defence is top priority in Pacific amid China military inroads: Pentagon

Last month, more than 1,500 visitors from China arrived in the Northern Mariana Islands compared with just 73 in February last year, according to local authorities. From April 28, Hong Kong Airlines will commence twice-weekly direct flights from Hong Kong to Saipan.

Yet even though Chinese tourists are now gradually returning to the archipelago after Beijing lifted travel restrictions, Palacios is determined to look elsewhere.

The governor has travelled to Taiwan and Japan seeking visitors. His efforts have yet to yield an infusion of either tourists or investment from places he calls “regional allies”.

The Palacios administration has also acted against some casinos and hotels backed by Chinese investors with charges including visa-waiver abuse, unpaid licence fees, labour violations, missed construction deadlines and unlawful proximity to American military infrastructure.

Efforts to revoke an exclusive casino licence issued to Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific International are ongoing.

The casinos were a key attraction for Chinese tourists, but since 2021, China has tightened its rules against overseas gambling. Last week, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry warned citizens to “stay away” from overseas casinos.

These moves exacerbate a grim reality that Palacios was already facing: Northern Mariana Island government coffers are nearly depleted, prompting local lawmakers and business leaders to push back against his tough stance towards China.

Last year, when Saipan authorities terminated a land lease for a Macau-based casino company, a senior local official called it a “victim of geopolitical factors”.

In addition, revenue shortfalls have rendered the Northern Mariana Islands unable to fully pay its employees and fund administrative operations in financial years 2023 and 2024.

Citing a total economic loss of more than US$330 million due to the absence of Chinese tourists in 2019, members of the territory’s senate in January wrote to Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary.

They asked that the Northern Mariana Islands be exempt from Covid-era limitations on the number of flights transiting between China and the US.

The Transportation Department allows just 35 weekly round-trip flights for Chinese carriers between China and the US – a cap the lawmakers said made it hard for the Northern Mariana Islands to compete with destinations such as Los Angeles and New York.

US knew Nauru might cut ties to Taiwan before it did, official says

Eager to boost travel, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce asked the territory’s lawmakers to urge the US Department of Homeland Security to let Chinese tourists submit their travel documents electronically in advance.

If accepted, the streamlined arrangement could blunt the effect of the current visa-waiver programme for Chinese nationals being revoked.

Palacios has yet to make his position clear on the request, insisting that a visa exemption is unnecessary to boost tourism. The territory needed to “wean [itself] off” the Chinese market, he has said, calling it “tenuous” given the fraught state of Sino-American relations.

He has asked for funds from Washington to shore up unemployment benefits, end austerity measures, build critical infrastructure and add the islands to the list of subsidised airfare destinations to ward off “malicious influence from the Chinese Communist Party”.

During his recent visit to Washington, Palacios met with officials from the State and Defence departments and delivered a speech at an inter-agency event organised by the Interior Department.

He argued that the social and economic stability of the Northern Mariana Islands was “directly tied to national security and a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

Citing the territory’s rising importance to America’s defence policies in the region, Palacios last year wrote to Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, requesting financial help.

And last month, Saipan’s head of ports authority endorsed a “marine highway” from the Northern Marianas to different Pacific islands, pitching to play a more useful role for the American military and create a new stable market for economic recovery.

Japan may be making its biggest security move in the Pacific Islands since WWII

Despite the concerted appeals for action, Washington has yet to dole out any major relief aid. When asked about the status of Palacios’s requests, the Defence and Interior departments referred the Post to the State Department, which declined to comment.

In an interview, Palacios voiced frustration over waging what he described as a lonely battle.

The pressure was unrelenting, he said, and “on a weekly basis, twice a week, you have editorials, you have people saying, ‘if we only had the Chinese tourists back, would we be in this situation? Why is the governor taking this position?’”.

Palacios added it would have been “more convenient” politically to take a more China- friendly approach like his predecessor, but he has resisted.

“First of all, we’re American citizens,” he said. “We are in this situation with a country that is not friendly any more”.

“I’ve made the effort to go to Taiwan, to Japan, to reinvigorate the tourism industry as well as bring in Taiwanese investment, bring in more Japanese investments again … [and woo] the Koreans and the Indians”.

To illustrate his wariness towards Beijing, Palacios cited a case from last year when more than 20 Chinese nationals were arrested for entering the US via the Northern Mariana Islands and illegally going to Guam by boat.

“That’s where Andersen Air Force base is,” he said, referring to the American military installation located on Guam. “There’s this reason to be concerned.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, rejected Palacios’s concerns as “ill-intentioned fabrications without any evidence”.

US Senate passes funds for Pacific island nations after congressional delays

Liu said that “turning away Chinese tourists will also harm the interests of the US itself”, claiming that the number of China’s outbound passenger visits was projected to reach 130 million in 2024.

At the think tank event, Palacios said he is aware of the economic repercussions of moving away from China, calling it a “big sacrifice”.

Asked if he took up the associated challenges during his meetings at the State Department, Palacios replied: “I didn’t have to raise them because [the officials he met] knew these issues were going on.”

The governor revealed in his meetings with Pentagon officials that he had considered abandoning his stance, saying: “I was talking to one of the assistant secretaries on policy. And I explained this to him and I say, ‘you know, sometime, maybe I’ll just fold my pen and raise my hands’.”

US to deploy 5 aircraft carriers in Western Pacific in show of strength to China

Tourism is the “cornerstone” of the Northern Mariana Islands economy, which has not recovered from Covid and “the truncation of visitors from China”, according to Leland Bettis of the Pacific Centre for Island Security, a Guam-based think tank.

He said that the territory has been “encouraging” the US Indo-Pacific Command “to schedule more ship visits to Saipan, but this is at best a small Band-Aid on a gaping economic wound”.

Bettis added that financial help from Washington “seems highly unlikely.” As an indicator of budget pressures in Washington, he noted that an US$11 billion “unfunded priorities” budget was submitted by the Indo-Pacific Command to Congress last week.

He also said that the US Congress this year also eliminated the $30 million in federal grants that the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam received since 2003 for hosting migrants from Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

In terms of helping the territory’s ailing economy, Randall Schriver, a former assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security, told the think-tank discussion that the Pentagon “can’t do it all, they shouldn’t do it all and for them to be successful, they absolutely can’t do it”.

“I think we have to be a little more creative,” Schriver added, saying help on the order that the Northern Mariana Islands sought “would be inappropriate and not effective” if it were merely from the Pentagon. “It has to be inter-agency, absolutely.”

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Chinese President Xi Jinping warns Dutch leader Mark Rutte not to put up barriers after ban on chip technology exports

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3256978/chinese-president-xi-jinping-warns-dutch-leader-mark-rutte-not-put-barriers-after-ban-chip?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against creating “division and confrontation” in a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday following the imposition of curbs on chip-making technology by the Netherlands last year.

Xi told Rutte that decoupling will lead nowhere and that Beijing has always believed that a truly secure world should be one that is interdependent, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

“The Chinese people also have the right to legitimate development. No force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological development and progress,” Xi said.

“Artificially creating scientific and technological barriers and fragmenting industrial and supply chains will only lead to division and confrontation.”

Rutte, who will leave office once talks on forming a new government have concluded, insisted decoupling is not a policy option for the Netherlands, according to the Chinese statement.

EU sees 200% surge in Xinjiang imports despite human rights concerns

The Netherlands is the home of ASML, the world’s biggest developer of advanced semiconductor equipment for chip makers, and the country has found itself caught in the middle of the tech war between the United States and China as Washington pushes its allies to help exclude Beijing from access to the most cutting-edge semiconductors.

The Dutch government has restricted the company from exporting its deep ultraviolet lithography systems to China since the start of the year, having banned it from selling its most advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machines since 2019 – but it insists that the chip export policy is not the result of pressure from the US.

The Chinese statement did not mention ASML or any specific companies. Instead it struck a positive tone, saying relations have “have developed steadily and rapidly” in recent years and the Netherlands has become a “gateway” for China-Europe cooperation.

Xi said that China is ready to expand imports of high-quality Dutch goods and welcomes investment.

He also called on the two countries to tap the potential for cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence and green transformation, while continuing to “actively” work together on agriculture, water conservancy and energy.

“China is willing to maintain exchanges with the Netherlands at all levels,” Xi said, urging the country to continue to play “an active role” in advancing mutual understanding between China and Europe.

Besides meeting the Dutch leader, Xi also met a delegation of prominent American business leaders and academics in Beijing on Wednesday to press home his message that China’s economy is resilient and open to foreign investment.

The Netherlands is China’s second largest trading partner in the European Union. In dollar terms, China’s imports from the Netherlands grew 26.6 per cent from a year earlier in January and February this year, but exports fell 21.2 per cent, according to Chinese customs data.

Rutte said the Netherlands values its friendly relations with Beijing and is ready to facilitate people-to-people exchanges and strengthen cooperation in trade, economics and carbon emission reduction, according to the Chinese statement.

US allies resist Biden’s urge to tighten chip curbs on China

The Dutch prime minister also met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday, who said China has always believed that cooperation is the key to China-EU relations, adding that the Netherlands was one of the first European countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China more than 70 years ago.

“It is hoped that the European side will be prudent in introducing restrictive economic and trade policies and utilising trade remedies,” Li said.

“China is willing to work together with the European side to push forward the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.”

In a video message posted on the social platform X, formerly Twitter, Rutte said he wanted to focus on China’s relations with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

“I will try to convey how important it is for the Netherlands, for our security, that Russia does not win this, that Russia loses this,” he said. “And that we also demand that understanding from a good friend like China.”

Rutte said he planned to step down as prime minister last year but has stayed on as a caretaker amid protracted coalition talks following the elections in November. He is widely seen as a leading candidate to be next secretary general of Nato with support from the US, Britain, France and Germany.

He also said that concerns about intellectual property rights, human rights and subsidies for Chinese products were also on his agenda.

In October, the European Union launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles amid concerns that Chinese-made cars are crowding out European producers.

Beijing has criticised the move, describing it as “selective” and “protectionist”.

Before meeting Xi and Li, Rutte visited Peking University, where he met Chinese students studying Dutch language and culture as well as their counterparts from the Netherlands who are studying in China.

Chinese social media platform Weibo removes fake images showing a rapidly ageing Tencent founder Pony Ma

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3256946/chinese-social-media-platform-weibo-removes-fake-images-showing-rapidly-ageing-tencent-founder-pony?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese social media platform Weibo has deleted a number of accounts publishing and spreading a retouched photo of a grey-haired and wrinkle-faced Pony Ma Huateng, Tencent Holdings’ founder and CEO, in the latest example of efforts to protect the country’s top entrepreneurs from online abuse.

“A small number of users posted and hyped up false information about companies and entrepreneurs, and even deliberately spread rumours through Photoshopped pictures,” Weibo said in a statement.

These “rumour-mongering” behaviours have infringed the legal rights of enterprises and entrepreneurs, and damaged the online environment for businesses, Weibo said.

The fake photos, which showed Ma looking much older than his real age of 52 and tried to suggest that he had aged rapidly due to pressure, drew attention as he and other Chinese tech founders have rarely appeared in public in recent years.

The latest glimpse of Ma in public was on March 22, when state television showed him attending an All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce meeting chaired by Shi Taifeng, the head of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In that video clip, Ma has black hair and looks to be in good health.

Chinese entrepreneurs are frequent subjects of speculation and verbal abuse on domestic social media.

Zhong Shanshan, chairman of Chinese mineral water giant Nongfu Spring and China’s richest man, was recently targeted by online trolls accusing him of not being patriotic enough.

Computer giant Lenovo Group and its founder Liu Chuanzhi once suffered months of unsubstantiated attacks made by ultra-left influencer Sima Nan, claiming that the company siphoned off state assets, before authorities shut down Sima’s social media accounts.

Unlike some of their Western counterparts who regularly attend public events and share personal updates on social media, Chinese tech entrepreneurs have largely avoided the limelight in the past several years.

PDD’s Huang outranks Tencent, ByteDance founders as China’s richest tech tycoon

Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, has not been seen in public for years, while Colin Huang Zheng, founder of e-commerce giant Pinduoduo and the country’s richest tech entrepreneur thanks to the popularity of its international platform Temu, has disappeared from public view as well.

Weibo has vowed to follow calls by the Chinese internet watchdog to crack down more forcefully against false information and extortion against enterprises, urging users to be more rational and report problematic content.

Chinese regulators have stepped up scrutiny of online information targeting domestic entrepreneurs, as Beijing looks to restore confidence in the private sector to revive a sluggish economy after the pandemic.

“Well-known entrepreneurs are increasingly facing challenges on highly developed social media networks, with netizens targeting their personal histories and company products,” said Zhang Yi, chief executive of Chinese consultancy firm iiMedia Research. “They can only rely on regulations that are cracking down on similar behaviours.”

Apple’s iPhone shipments slumped in February, highlighting why CEO Tim Cook went on a charm offensive in China

https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3256948/apples-iphone-shipments-slumped-february-highlighting-why-ceo-tim-cook-went-charm-offensive-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Apple’s iPhone shipments in China fell by about one third in February from a year ago, according to official state data released Tuesday, a sign that the US tech giant is losing ground to Chinese smartphone brands in the world’s second-largest economy.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited Shanghai last week in an apparent charm offensive to improve relations with Chinese consumers, suppliers and local authorities.

Cook attended the opening of a new Apple Store in Shanghai’s Jing’an district, the largest in Asia, and he also met representatives from three major Apple suppliers in Shanghai, including Wang Chuanfu, chairman and chief executive of the world’s largest electric vehicle maker BYD. On Sunday, he was in Beijing for the China Development Forum, where he told state media CGTN, “I love China. I love the people”.

US sues Apple in landmark iPhone monopoly case

While Apple remains committed to the Chinese market with its large base of Apple fans, the US consumer electronics giant is facing regulatory and competitive headwinds. There have been anecdotal reports that some Chinese government agencies and offices have banned the use of iPhones, even though the Chinese government has denied the existence of such regulations or policies.

China’s official data showed that foreign brands shipped about 2.4 million smartphones in February, for a combined 16.9 per cent share of the Chinese market. Given that Apple is the most significant foreign player in the country, it translates into a drop of about one-third from the prior month.

In January, Apple shipped about 5.5 million units, down 39 per cent year on year, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a Chinese government-backed think tank.

The iPhone maker said on Tuesday that it plans to unveil its long-awaited artificial intelligence (AI) strategy at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference which starts June 10. Apple is expected to launch major software updates for all its smart devices, and outline a new AI strategy based around the iOS 18 upgrade.

At the same time, Apple is expected to look for a local AI partner for the Chinese market, with China’s search engine giant Baidu reportedly chosen as the AI supplier for iPhones in the country. However, China Daily, the official English language state newspaper, said Apple and Baidu have not reached a deal, citing unidentified sources.

Chinese smartphone brands including Honor and Xiaomi introduced their generative AI products at annual trade show MWC Barcelona in Spain late last month.

Apple has tried to turn the tide of declining shipments of iPhones in the Chinese market by reassuring its commitment to long-term development in the world’s second-largest economy.

Cook reiterated Apple’s commitment to invest in research and development (R&D) and the supply chain in China when he met China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao last Friday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce.

Apple said it plans to expand its applied research centre in Shanghai to support all of its product lines, as well as establish a new R&D lab in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen later this year for key products, including the iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, according to the company.

Chinese sales of the iPhone fell by nearly a quarter in the first six weeks of 2024 over the same period last year, ranking the US firm fourth after Vivo, Huawei and Honor, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

Huawei Technologies was the biggest winner, posting a 64 per cent jump in sales for the six week period, driven by strong demand for its flagship 5G Mate 60 Pro smartphone with a powerful home-grown chip.

Long-delayed China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ summit needed ‘as soon as possible’ as countries face ‘polycrisis’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3256973/long-delayed-china-japan-south-korea-leaders-summit-needed-soon-possible-countries-face-polycrisis?utm_source=rss_feed

Cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea is more important than ever as the neighbours face a series of intertwined crises, according to the head of a trilateral organisation for the three countries.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the annual Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, China, Lee Hee-sup, the secretary general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), said the current “polycrisis” shows the need for closer trilateral cooperation and deeper exchanges between China, Japan and South Korea.

“Any country cannot handle [these crises] by themselves … so the three countries and TCS need to facilitate trilateral cooperation as soon as possible,” he said.

China-US rift looms over Japan, South Korea as Beijing wants to restart trade

Collaboration and solidarity should be boosted to confront global crises, and the resumption of a leaders’ summit this year – the first in four-and-a-half years – would carry special significance, Lee said at the forum, which runs until Friday.

Lee said the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s missile provocations, geopolitical tensions and industry supply chain disruptions were some of the daunting challenges facing China, Japan and South Korea.

“So we need to cooperate closely,” he said.

Lee did not provide an update on progress to revive the leaders’ summit, saying the three-way meeting would happen at a mutually convenient time, echoing a similar statement by the foreign ministers of the three countries in November. Lee said he hoped it would be held “in the near future”, adding that the three governments “have been preparing for it”.

US allies resist Biden’s urge to tighten chip curbs on China

Seoul, the current chair of the rotating dialogue, initially anticipated the summit would be held by the end of 2023 or early 2024. But Japanese media earlier reported that the forum could be delayed until May or even later, as Beijing weighs its options over the coming months.

The first trilateral summit was held in 2008, but was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic as ties between the neighbouring countries began to fray.

Lee also stressed the importance of young people and grass-roots exchanges in promoting future relations between the countries.

He said online media and social network sites could amplify negative sentiment, misunderstandings and misperceptions among youth about other countries.

“Young people will be the solid foundation for trilateral cooperation,” he said. “Trilateral cooperation is the regional, future-oriented cooperation, not present.”

TCS, which was established by China, Japan and South Korea in 2011, is tasked with promoting lasting peace, common prosperity and shared culture between the three countries, especially by encouraging people-to-people exchanges.

Despite long-standing cultural and economic links, momentum to boost cooperation among the three countries has stalled over several issues, including historical wartime activities, Japan’s recent release of contaminated water from Fukushima and Beijing’s growing strategic rivalry with Washington.

Tokyo and Seoul – long-time US allies – have recently tilted towards Washington to upgrade their security ties, drawing rebukes from Beijing.

Can India forge a 3-way Indo-Pacific partnership with Japan and South Korea?

Lee admitted that the tensions between the two superpowers were a critical obstacle to trilateral cooperation, but said the livelihoods of average people in China, Japan and South Korea should get more attention since their economies are closely integrated.

North Korea’s frequent missile launches threatened regional stability, and trilateral cooperation was urgently needed to jointly tackle the issue, Lee said.

“High tension is never helpful for the three countries,” he said.

Xu Bu, an expert on global development and security studies at Jiangsu University, said on Wednesday that given the problems facing the three countries, “something constructive and concrete” should be negotiated during the three-way summit.

“It is so important for these countries to deal with their own problems in a proper way and the cooperation among three countries is the key to peace, security and prosperity in East Asia,” Xu said at the forum.

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How Germany is reshaping the world in era of US-China rivalry

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3256642/how-germany-reshaping-world-era-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed

“We want to do whatever we can to help settle tensions in a peaceful manner,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said of the South China Sea territorial disputes while standing next to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

“This is about adhering to international law, ensuring the freedom of navigation. We are working to ensure that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is being adhered to by all its parties,” Scholz added, emphasising the utmost importance of de-escalation and the code of conduct negotiations for the South China Sea.

Crucially, Scholz also referred to the 2016 arbitral tribunal award, which invalidated China’s expansive claims in adjacent waters. He made it clear that he believes it “to be very important that each and every one adheres to the legislation in place”.

During his state visit to Berlin, Marcos made it clear he had “no choice” but to defend his country’s sovereign rights in the area. But the Filipino leader also clarified that he was not just rejecting any proposals China made and that diplomacy was still his preferred option.

Scholz, who hosted three Southeast Asian leaders this month, at once positioned Germany as a global leader by expressing support for fellow democracies such as the Philippines, as well as underscoring the importance of regional diplomacy and international law in resolving conflicts in Asia. However, he steered clear of directly criticising China or signalling any alignment with the US “integrated deterrence” strategy against Beijing.

If anything, Scholz is expected to visit Beijing next month to further buttress Sino-German economic cooperation as well as exercise constructive diplomacy in areas of geopolitical divergence. Germany, now the world’s third-largest economy, is signalling its preference for a different approach to global diplomacy that seeks to both stabilise and transcend the US-China rivalry.

Germany’s China strategy reflects the country’s delicate balancing act

Scholz rose to national prominence when he served as finance minister under former German chancellor Angela Merkel. However, he initially struggled to escape the shadow of his predecessor, who dominated European politics for more than a decade.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Scholz to up his statesmanship, leading him to declare an epochal turning point in Germany’s foreign policy. Accordingly, he promised to revisit the country’s post-Cold War strategy, which deliberately eschewed an assertive defence policy in favour of a “change through trade” to approach authoritarian powers such as Russia.

Thus, Berlin began to reconsider its economic engagement with Moscow and adopted a more proactive defence policy, including the transfer of military hardware to Ukraine. When it comes to Germany’s Asia policy, however, Scholz has broadly held onto the country’s 2020 Indo-Pacific strategy, which underscored the importance of both economic engagement and a proactive defence policy.

Berlin has largely resisted Washington’s approach in favour of constructive engagement with China. A little more than a year into office, Scholz became the first Western leader to visit China after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a decision that drew sharp criticism from Germany’s transatlantic allies as well as coalition partners at home.

The visit also came on the heels of Scholz’ decision to overrule Germany’s defence and political establishment, including his cabinet members, in favour of a major Chinese investment in a Hamburg port terminal. During his conversation with former premier Li Keqiang, the German leader made it clear that “we do not believe in ideas of decoupling”, though he did emphasise the importance of maintaining “economic ties as equals, with reciprocity”.

Far from ingratiating himself to Beijing, however, Scholz reiterated his country’s categorical opposition to any coercive change in cross-straits relations and that “any change in Taiwan’s status quo must be peaceful or by mutual agreement”. Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping reassured Scholz that he would oppose, in tandem with other major powers, Russia’s potential “use of, or threats to use, nuclear weapons” in Ukraine.

By all indications, Scholz’s upcoming visit to China is likely to seek to build on his constructive approach to diplomatic engagement. In this sense, he is not only resisting the approach to China favoured by the United States but could also facilitate a more durable Sino-American detente by re-emphasising areas of shared global interests.

Crucially, Germany is also eager to develop ties with other emerging middle powers in the Global South. Based on my recent exchanges with the German chancellor and leading strategists in Berlin, it’s clear that Europe’s largest economy is actively seeking comprehensive strategic partnerships with rising powers, especially India as well as key Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Germany has an inherent interest in diversifying its economic partnerships to reduce its dependence on China as well as form deeper defence cooperation with like-minded players in Asia with a focus on maritime security and cybersecurity. To underscore its commitment, Germany is not only expanding its strategic investment footprint in the Indo-Pacific but also stepping up its defence policy and naval deployments there, albeit in a calibrated fashion.

The ultimate aim is to underscore Germany’s active contribution to a rules-based international order, build a network of partnerships with fellow middle powers in the world’s most dynamic region and help create a pluralistic order that transcends the whims of any superpower.

It remains to be seen if Scholz will succeed in his global strategy, which rejects subservience to any superpower. What is clear is that few countries are better-positioned than Germany in promoting a constructive and collaborative global order against the backdrop of intensifying superpower rivalry.

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China’s home-grown C929 widebody passenger jet enters ‘crucial’ development stage amid Beijing’s aviation push

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3256951/chinas-home-grown-c929-widebody-passenger-jet-enters-crucial-development-stage-amid-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s home-grown C929 widebody passenger jet has entered “a crucial stage” of its development process, according to its manufacturer, amid Beijing’s continuous efforts for a strong presence in the aviation industry.

“It’s a crucial stage in the development process, which indicates the overall technical scheme of the aircraft has been determined,” Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) marketing director Zhang Xiaoguang told a science and technology innovation conference in Shanghai on Tuesday.

It would then be followed by the design and manufacturing of systems and components, he added.

The update came amid ongoing speculation since last year that Russia had dropped out of its partnership with Comac to develop the widebody airliner, which was formerly known as the CR929.

China, Russia to strengthen ‘no-limits’ partnership, pledge to cooperate on AI

In 2017, Comac and Russian aerospace and defence company United Aircraft Corporation set up a joint venture in Shanghai to focus on building the CR929.

China and Russia said in December that they would “actively promote cooperation projects in the joint development of long-range widebody passenger aircraft and heavy helicopters”, without specifying the exact projects or companies involved.

The C929 would have around 280-400 seats and a range of 12,000km (7,456 miles), according to Comac.

Li Dongsheng, Comac’s chief engineer of composite materials, told the Hangzhou-based Dushikuaibao newspaper last month that the C929 would incorporate more than 50 per cent carbon fibre composite materials and 15 per cent titanium alloy.

Li added that the proportion of titanium alloy marked a substantial leap beyond the roughly 10 per cent typically found in mainstream narrowbody aircraft, aligning with the standard of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350, and also higher than the 12 per cent in its C919 narrowbody passenger jet.

Chinese fuselage manufacturer Huarui Aerospace Manufacturing, which was selected by Comac in 2021 to build the body of the C929, said in a WeChat post on its official account last month that the first middle section would be delivered by September 2027.

China has intensified its push to break the long-standing duopoly of US-based Boeing and European multinational corporation Airbus in civil aviation as part of a broader effort to demonstrate its prowess in advanced manufacturing, fuelled largely by the growing technological rivalry with the United States.

Beijing has made the home-grown C919 the poster child for its entry into the aviation sector, and according to Zhang, the aircraft has surpassed a “milestone” after completing over 240,000km (149,130 miles) of test flights.

A fifth C919 entered commercial operation with China Eastern earlier this month, while the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in January they would push for European certification of the jet, which has so far only been certified to be used commercially within China.

Comac has also delivered 128 of its smaller ARJ21 narrowbody regional aircraft, according to Zhang.

“[We will] actively reserve large-scale orders for large aircraft,” Comac’s deputy marketing director Liu Yan said on Monday, according to the company’s official social media account.

“[We will] coordinate the domestic and international markets in an orderly manner and secure a large number of customers and orders, laying a solid foundation for large-scale production, delivery and operation.”

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US should not ‘oppress and contain’ China, globalisation facing ‘headwinds’: top Beijing official

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3256949/us-should-not-oppress-and-contain-china-globalisation-facing-headwinds-top-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed

Asia should not allow itself to become a “testing ground for parallel systems” amid US-China decoupling and the Americans should not “oppress and contain” Beijing, a senior Chinese official who is tipped to be the next foreign minister said at a forum in Singapore.

Liu Jianchao, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party, on Wednesday called for efforts to boost economic globalisation in his keynote speech as he implicitly accused the United States of promoting protectionist policies.

“However, for some time, the trend of economic globalisation has encountered headwinds,” said Liu, who hailed the twin engines of economic globalisation and regional integration for their “potential and resilience for growth”.

“Certain countries are engaged in decoupling, disrupting supply chains, building small yards with high fences in the name of security,” he said in a thinly veiled reference to the Americans’ trade and economic strategy targeting China. Last year, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan referred to the threat from China targeting US technologies and called for the erection of “a small yard and a high fence”.

Liu said, “Asia must be vigilant not to become testing grounds for parallel systems. If so, the long-established industrial supply chains in the region could be disrupted and Asia can find it harder to achieve prosperity.”

Parallel systems refer to a global political and economic order simultaneously dominated by different powers, with the US-China rivalry cited by political analysts as a prime example.

US visit firms speculation Liu Jianchao will be China’s next foreign minister

Liu, 60, was speaking at a dialogue in Singapore on the challenges of Asia’s future, co-hosted by non-profit organisation Business China and Singapore Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao.

The event was part of his four-day trip to the city state, where he met Singapore’s top leaders.

Liu is widely seen as the leading contender to be China’s next foreign minister. His six-day visit to the US in January had helped reduce tensions over Taiwan, according to analysts, who noted his trip attracted “an unprecedented level of attention”.

In his latest speech, Liu went to great lengths to stress that China remained a staunch supporter of economic globalisation and regional integration. “The Chinese economy is deeply integrated into the world economy. We will open our door wider.”

He said that China also stood “ready to work with Singapore and other Asian countries” in advanced technology and innovation to grasp new opportunities.

While Liu did not make direct mention of the US in his speech regarding economic policies, he named the country in response to questions on the US-China rivalry.

One of the reasons US-China relations remained rocky was because “the US had not abandoned its policy to oppress and contain China”, Liu said in response to a question on where relations between the two superpowers were headed.

The best way to mend ties was to promote dialogue and communication, which could enhance the perception that the US had of China, he argued.

On the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency, Liu said the Chinese government would “have to cooperate with whoever is elected into office”.

“If we can reach more points of consensus in the future and improve our relations then that is something we definitely want to see,” he said. “We hope that whoever is elected as president of the US will continue to establish a positive perception of China.”

On Tuesday, Liu called on Singapore’s deputy prime ministers Lawrence Wong and Heng Swee Keat, reaffirming the “warm and long-standing relations between both nations and said he looked forward to “further strengthening bilateral cooperation”, according to a statement released by Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry.

Heng and Liu welcomed the “strong momentum in bilateral cooperation, and reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to continued high-quality and forward-looking collaboration in both traditional and emerging areas”.

The two countries could also work closer with regional and international partners to tackle shared challenges such as climate change, the statement read.

This year also marked the 30th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park, which is the first government-to-government project between both sides, the officials from both countries had noted, expressing confidence in the project’s “continued growth and development”.

“They also agreed that despite the differences in size and socioeconomic contexts of both countries, there was much that each side could learn from the other to address the needs of our populations and uplift their lives,” the statement from the Singapore ministry read.

Singapore minister’s visit to Palestinian territories a ‘visible gesture’

Liu’s visit coincides with the arrival of China’s new ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming, replacing predecessor Sun Haiyan who has been promoted to deputy minister in the Communist Party’s International Liaison Department following a mere 14-month stint in the city state.

In written remarks upon his arrival on March 24, Cao said bilateral ties had always been “forward-looking, strategic and demonstrative”, and mutually beneficial to both countries.

He also expressed his admiration for Singapore and its transformation into “a global hub for trade, finance, shipping, and aviation in just over half a century”.

He pledged his commitment to do “his utmost” to push for “high quality” ties between Singapore and China.

“As close neighbours, China and Singapore have enjoyed time-honoured friendly exchanges. I will do my utmost and work with friends from all walks of life in Singapore to make ‘high quality’ the most distinct feature of China-Singapore cooperation,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

In December, Wong met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing during a four-day visit, marking his first visit to China since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a more precise succession timeline. Wong is expected to take over as leader before the ruling People’s Action Party’s 70th anniversary next November, Lee said last November.

China and Singapore also recently agreed to kick-start a mutual 30-day visa-free travel arrangement, which took effect in January.

Previously, Singaporean citizens could make social visits to China for up to 15 days, an arrangement that was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic and reinstated in July. However, mainland Chinese citizens have always needed a visa to enter Singapore.

China faces US$50 billion shortfall in Southeast Asia as belt and road funds miss their mark

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3256925/china-faces-us50-billion-shortfall-southeast-asia-belt-and-road-funds-miss-their-mark?utm_source=rss_feed

A sizeable sum of infrastructure funding China has allocated to Southeast Asia has gone unfulfilled thanks to political instability in recipient countries, poor engagement with local stakeholders and a declining appetite for energy projects powered by fossil fuels, a new study from the Lowy Institute has found.

The gap between what Beijing has committed to and what it has delivered has raised “uncertainty” about the future of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, where Southeast Asian nations are key participants, the Australian think tank said on Wednesday.

“This difference amounts to US$50 billion in unfulfilled project financing, with more than half allocated to projects that have been cancelled, downsized, or otherwise seem unlikely to proceed,” said Alexandre Dayant and Grace Stanhope, who co-wrote the report.

Large-scale infrastructure projects launched under the Chinese initiative are “a prominent feature of [the region’s] development landscape”, the authors wrote.

Among the 34 commitments to megaprojects in Southeast Asia recorded by the think tank, were 24 from China, six from Japan, three from the Asian Development Bank and one from South Korea.

China’s 24 projects were worth a combined US$77 billion in financing commitments, but also represent more than US$52 billion in implementation shortfalls. The average completion rate was 33 per cent, with eight projects worth about US$16 billion finished and another eight “on track”, although two have been “substantially downsized”.

“Five projects worth US$21 billion have been cancelled, while another three projects worth US$5 billion seem unlikely to proceed,” authors said.

China has shifted its strategy for the initiative, prioritising smaller projects that are more efficient and less risky after some large deals ran into financial problems and drew international attention.

Many overseas analysts attributed the changes to China’s deteriorating economic conditions and debt crises in borrowing countries.

China’s technical expertise touted as new vehicle for progress on belt and road

However, the two scholars called a narrative suggesting a failure of the initiative “seems misplaced”. Instead, they said, the initiative “is here to stay” and is evolving into a more sustainable source of financing.

Authors named the East Coast Rail Link project in Malaysia, the Thailand-China high-speed railway, the PNR Bicol line and the Mindanao Railway in the Philippines, as well as a deep-sea port in Myanmar’s Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone as projects affected by a change in political situations.

A history of poor engagement with local stakeholders has also limited the delivery of China’s infrastructure projects, they said, specifically referencing the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia and Phnom Penh Airport in Cambodia.

Belt and road projects also appear to “have been caught out” by rising imperatives to accelerate the clean energy transition, report authors said, citing the Vinh Tan 3 and Nam Dinh 1 coal-fired power plants in Vietnam.

President Xi Jinping pledged China would stop financing and constructing new coal-fired plants overseas in 2021, a major moment in the global effort to combat climate change.

Were Beijing to address the challenges enumerated in the report, and with cancelled projects excluded, the authors said that China could fulfil its Southeast Asian infrastructure commitments with a total expenditure of US$62 billion, making it the region’s largest development partner by a wide margin.

Even in a hypothetical scenario where Japan – the nearest contender – fulfilled all its outstanding obligations and China maintained its current pace, Dayan and Stanhope concluded, “Japan would still fall short of catching up with China’s infrastructure disbursements in Southeast Asia.”

Mainland China says it will watch Taiwanese military exercises closely for signs of ‘provocation’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3256930/mainland-china-says-it-will-watch-taiwanese-military-exercises-closely-signs-provocation?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has said it will closely monitor live fire drills by the Taiwanese military for signs of “provocations” amid heightened cross-strait tensions.

Taiwan is planning a series of offshore live-fire military drills throughout April around its offshore islets, including Quemoy, a Taiwanese-held outpost which is a short distance from the mainland city of Xiamen.

On Wednesday, Chen Binhua, a spokesman for mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Beijing is closely monitoring the movements of the Taiwanese army, and warned that “any provocations” or “rash” actions are doomed to fail.

“Whether it is ‘routine’ training or a ‘targeted’ provocation, the DPP authorities know better than anyone in their hearts,” Chen told a press briefing, referring to the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

He said people on Quemoy, which is also known as Kinmen, have grown up cherishing peace and have made the right choice between “firing guns” and “building bridges”.

Taiwan opposition questions President Tsai’s absence from Taiping pier ceremony

Earlier this month, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency issued a notice that the army’s Kinmen Defence Command will stage artillery exercises to bolster combat readiness around Quemoy.

The drills are scheduled to take place over about 20 days between April 2 and April 30. Those include parts of Quemoy, and its tiny outlying islets of Houyu, Fuyun, Fuxing, Shiyu, Muyu and Lieyu.

The Taiwanese military has said that the drills are routine exercises and have no specific target, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency.

Last month two fishermen from the Chinese mainland died when their boat capsized following a chase by Taiwanese coastguards – an incident that saw the two sides trading accusations over who was to blame.

The Taiwanese authorities have argued that the fishing boat had illegally entered its “prohibited or restricted waters”. Beijing denied the waters were restricted, and accused the Taiwanese coastguards of using “violent and dangerous methods” in their pursuit.

Since then, the mainland coastguard has been carrying out regular patrols around Quemoy, while Taiwan has sent patrol vessels to warn off the mainland ships when they enter the waters off Quemoy and Matsu, another outpost controlled by Taipei off the coast of Fujian.

The death of the two fishermen caused a further spike in tensions that were already running high following the election victory in January of the DPP’s candidate William Lai Ching-te – whom Beijing regards as a hardcore separatist and “troublemaker”.

Ex-Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou planning to visit mainland China

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China that must eventually be reunited with the mainland – by force if necessary – and has steadily ramped up its military activities around the island in recent years.

Most countries, including Taiwan’s main international partner the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons to help defend itself.

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China condemns Pakistan suicide bombing that killed 6, pledges to continue belt and road projects despite attacks

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3256926/china-condemns-pakistan-suicide-bombing-killed-6-pledges-continue-belt-and-road-projects-despite?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing strongly condemned a suicide bombing on Tuesday that killed five Chinese nationals in Pakistan and pledged to continue working on the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China opposes all forms of terrorism and firmly supports Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

It vowed to strengthen cooperation with Islamabad to protect the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan.

“China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ‘ironclad’ brothers, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has made significant contributions to Pakistan’s economic and social development,” the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“Any attempt to undermine China-Pakistan cooperation will never succeed.”

A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, killing six, police said. Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed.

“China demands that Pakistan promptly investigate the truth behind the incident, make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and take practical and effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens,” the ministry said.

Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong visited the site of the dam on Wednesday to express condolences to the Chinese staff and stressed that proper handling of the aftermath – especially making arrangements for the victims – should be the immediate priority.

He also instructed the project team to “strictly, realistically and comprehensively strengthen security measures”, improve employees’ emotional support and well-being, and ensure the safety and stability of the workforce.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has condemned the attack, saying Islamabad would carry on its fight against militants.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Chinese embassy in Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon and vowed to carry out an investigation.

“We will swiftly investigate the incident and punish the perpetrators severely. We will never allow the evil plot to undermine the steadfast friendship between Pakistan and China to succeed,” he said.

Attacks on Chinese in Pakistan ‘unlikely to derail close economic ties’

It was the third major attack on Chinese interests in the South Asian country in a week, with the first two targeting a naval airbase and a strategic port in the southwest province of Balochistan, where China has invested billions in infrastructure projects.

The attack on Tuesday echoed another that occurred in the area in July 2021 when a suicide bomber on a bus killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers. More than 20 Chinese personnel were injured in that attack.

So far, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the most recent attack, nor has anyone claimed responsibility for the 2021 attack.

Chinese engineers have been working on a number of projects in Pakistan. Beijing has invested heavily in infrastructure as part of the CPEC under the belt and road plan, Beijing’s global infrastructure project.

Chinese workers in Pakistan live in fear of another terrorist attack

The Dasu hydropower project, where the engineers killed in the most recent attack worked, is one of the biggest Chinese-funded hydroelectric projects in Pakistan. The investment deal was signed in 2017, and Wuhan-based engineering firm China Gezhouba Group Company Limited is overseeing the project.

Originally scheduled to be operational this year, the project had a total investment of 511 billion Pakistani rupees (US$1.8 million) as of 2020.

As of the end of 2022, the CPEC had brought in total direct investment of US$25.4 billion to Pakistan, official news agency Xinhua reported, citing data from the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.

It generated 236,000 jobs, eased the construction of 510km (317 miles) of highway, and contributed to the development of an 886km national power transmission network in Pakistan.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan issued an urgent security advisory following the attack on Tuesday, warning Chinese citizens of the local security risks.

“The Chinese embassy in Pakistan urgently reminds Chinese citizens, enterprises, and projects in Pakistan to remain highly vigilant, closely monitor the local security situation, take precautions against security risks, avoid visiting crowded places, and refrain from unnecessary outings,” it said.

5 Chinese engineers killed in suicide bomb attack in Pakistan, probe under way

Zhu Yongbiao, a professor at Lanzhou University’s School of Politics and International Relations, said the attack might affect China’s investment in Pakistan but would not have a major influence on the two countries’ economic cooperation.

“Overall speaking, Pakistan’s terrorism situation is deteriorating sharply. Due to China and Pakistan’s special relationship, the large amount of Chinese investment and personnel will become a target more easily,” Zhu said.

“The current investment from China may not be cut. However, some additional investment projects might be suspended temporarily,” Zhu said.

Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, agreed that the attack would not derail the overall relationship between Beijing and Islamabad, but added China would have doubts about Pakistan’s security capabilities.

“There will be concerns and reservations from China about the effectiveness of the security,” he said, adding that Pakistan was responsible for arranging security at the hydropower station. “Why was [Pakistani security] unable to stop the attack?”

Basit predicted that the attack might encourage Chinese companies to hire their own security personnel, one of the major points of contention between the two countries.

“China has been pushing Pakistan to allow private Chinese security companies to come and do the security for the Chinese projects in Pakistan,” he said.

“Pakistan, of course, has refused that till now because if they do that, it would reflect poorly on Pakistani security institutions.”

China calls for ‘critical’ IMF reforms to mirror economic prowess, a collective Asian voice

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3256953/china-calls-critical-imf-reforms-mirror-economic-prowess-collective-asian-voice?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s central bank chief has reaffirmed Beijing’s desire to have more of a say in the international financial system to match its economic prowess, while also calling for a regional monetary mechanism and enhanced bilateral cooperation.

People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng told the Boao Forum for Asia on Wednesday that established international institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) need to be reformed in terms of their quotas and voting power to better mirror the weight a specific economy carries.

A day earlier, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva had visited China’s central bank in Beijing, during which she discussed IMF quota reforms with Pan.

China holds 6.09 per cent voting power in the Washington-based fund, far lower than the 16.5 per cent share held by the United States, which effectively gives it veto power, with major decisions at the IMF requiring 85 per cent to be in favour for a motion to be approved.

The quota is far lower than China’s share in the global economic output, which stands at about 18 per cent.

“The quota reform is critical to the IMF’s governance representation and legitimacy,” Pan told a panel on Asian financial stability.

The fund concluded its latest round of quota reviews in December, but no decision has been made about any adjusted distribution.

According to President Xi Jinping’s financial superpower vision rolled out at October’s central financial work conference, a part of it would be to grow the weight of the world’s second-largest economy in international finance.

“Finance has become one of the hotly-contested realms in superpower rivalry,” Xi said in Excerpts of Xi Jinping’s Speeches on Finance Work, a newly published book summarising his financial instructions.

In another session at Central Party School – the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party officials – in January, Xi said “having a strong voice and ability to deploy its influence in the formulation of global financial rules is one of the core attributes of a financial superpower”.

Rui Meng, a professor with the China Europe International Business School, said China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of the upcoming quota adjustment and capital injection for a more proportionate mix of voting powers at the IMF.

“Beijing is challenging US dominance, but it also has to ensure fairness as China’s growing say won’t become another unfair dominance,” Rui said.

“That’s why Pan has stressed a collective Asian voice and approach that has wider support and is more sustainable.”

In Boao, Pan appealed to panellists, including central bank officials from Indonesia, Singapore and Mongolia, to dovetail efforts to expedite quota realignment, including a new formula, to reflect the weight of Asian countries and emerging markets.

Beijing has also pinned more hope on strengthening regional deals, including the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI).

The initiative is a currency swap arrangement pooling China, the 10 Southeast Asian nations, Japan and South Korea.

“The CMI is in line with new changes in the international monetary system and the characteristics of the region as a stabiliser,” Pan added.

“Specific ways to introduce a freely usable currency are being discussed. This will further serve the region with freely usable currencies and improve the flexibility and accessibility of investment.”

The Chinese central bank governor also hailed the “common will” in the region to explore the possibility of establishing international financial mechanisms and institutions dedicated to Asia, as he commented on the calls for the establishment of new legal entities to strengthen Asia’s financial safety net.

The PBOC has already signed local currency swap agreements worth 4 trillion yuan (US$554 billion) with 29 countries and regions, with the deals forming a key part of the international bailout efforts led by the IMF to help member countries fight economic or financial crises.

Man in China fails to find life partner after 20 blind dates, sees role reversed, helps more than 300 couples find love in 7 years

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3255754/man-china-fails-find-life-partner-after-20-blind-dates-sees-role-reversed-helps-more-300-couples?utm_source=rss_feed

A man in China has proved that even if your search for a partner is a forlorn one, it does not mean you cannot find love for someone else.

Zhou Shipeng has become a successful matchmaker, helping 346 couples find love over the past seven years, even though he struck out after going on 20 blind dates.

The 34-year-old from Hebei province, in northern China went on a string of blind dates in 2016 after his parents pressured him to find a bride.

But when he constantly failed to find the right match, he decided to start a business to help others find love, as well as himself, according to Qingdou Video.

In 2017, Zhou decided he would visit the local matchmaking area every Thursday afternoon and quickly discovered that most advertisers were parents or grandparents seeking partners for their loved ones, a common phenomenon in China.

Zhou saw an opportunity to act as a middleman. He became adept at recording the parents’ desired resumes for their future in-laws – such as height, profession, or dating history – and searching the community for people who met the standards.

A few months later, he helped his first couple find love.

“The happiness I felt then was more than if I were getting married,” Zhou said.

It hardened his resolve to help more people find love, and in April 2018, he became a full-time matchmaker.

Thankfully, some serendipity also came his way. When helping others, he also found a match for himself.

“My wife came to me to find love for herself,” said Zhou. But the chemistry between them was undeniable, so they began dating. They eventually got married and now have a daughter.

Over the past few years, Zhou has helped 346 couples tie the knot. He said his success is due to his effort to understand each person, which makes it far more likely that he will facilitate the correct match.

“I really enjoy being a matchmaker, and I will continue this job,” said Zhou.

His story has been trending on mainland social media.

“The matchmaking industry needs kind-hearted people like him,” said one online observer.

Another person added: “Awesome, this young man is breaking the stereotype of matchmakers.” Normally in China matchmakers are middle-aged or elderly women.

‘Shut up, idiot’: China actress Zhang Ziyi snaps back at netizen who claims she needs young actors to boost new film, gets 200 million views

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3255510/shut-idiot-china-actress-zhang-ziyi-snaps-back-netizen-who-claims-she-needs-young-actors-boost-new?utm_source=rss_feed

Internationally known China film star, Zhang Ziyi, has angrily denied speculation that she used two other famous mainland actresses to bolster her new film’s box office power.

After an eight-year hiatus from the film industry, Zhang is starring in the mystery, Jiang Xiang Yuan, the shooting of which was completed in Shanghai in March, the news outlet City Express reported.

The film, which is directed by Hong Kong’s Peter Chan Ho-sun, features Zhang in the lead role, alongside some first-tier mainland stars such as Yang Mi and Zhao Liying.

Yang, 37, and Zhao, 36, both enjoy enormous popularity on the mainland, particularly among film fans in their 20s and 30s.

The internet rumour mill was abuzz with speculation during filming, and one gossip made some bold claims.

On March 12, a Weibo user with the alias Cha Bao Dian Ping, claimed it was Zhang who asked Chan to invite Yang and Zhao to appear in the film, hoping to leverage their fame to increase public attention.

“Zhang’s previous films did not do well at the box office. She is not as popular as she once was. Therefore, her hope is that the new film will do better and revive her career,” the online observer said.

“After her divorce, Zhang needs to focus on her career. Relying on her own popularity is not a promising prospect for Jiang Xiang Yuan’s box office success. But with the involvement of Yang and Zhao, the film will definitely be in the spotlight,” he went on.

“So Zhang is the biggest winner. How smart she is.”

Half an hour after the post was released, Zhang replied directly to Cha Bao Dian Ping, saying: “No, I haven’t done this.”

“Shut up, idiot,” she then wrote in English.

After Zhang’s response went viral on mainland social media, and was viewed 200 million times on Weibo alone, the online observer apologised and said his previous post was based on gossip he had heard.

“I believe that your new film will be a blockbuster. I trust your acting skills,” he said.

Zhang, 45, is an award-winner who won best actress from the three most prestigious film festivals in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

She is better known as “international Zhang” in China for her frequent exposure on the global stage a decade ago.

She acted in director Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 and in Memoirs of a Geisha along with Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li in 2005.

The celebrated actress also won a number of awards in Asia for her roles in the 2013 film The Grandmaster directed by Hong Kong’s Wong Kar-wai.

She married Wang Feng, a famous singer in China, in 2015 and divorced him last year. They have two children.

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China’s moon programme: 3 satellites enter lunar orbit while fate of 2 that did not reach planned altitude is not clear

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3256888/chinas-moon-programme-3-satellites-enter-lunar-orbit-while-fate-2-did-not-reach-planned-altitude-not?utm_source=rss_feed

Three Chinese satellites have successfully entered lunar orbit, while the status of two others remains unclear after apparent rescue efforts.

The Queqiao-2 communication relay satellite, launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in southern China on March 20, arrived at 440km (273 miles) above the moon’s surface early on Monday morning, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Following a 19-minute-long braking burn which began at 12.46am, the spacecraft slowed, was caught by the moon’s gravity and entered a highly elliptical lunar orbit, the administration announced on its website.

Two smaller satellites, Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2, which lifted off along with Queqiao-2 to test lunar navigation technologies, also successfully performed braking and entered lunar orbit on Monday morning. They will separate later, according to CNSA.

Meanwhile, there have been no official updates on the status of DRO-A/B satellites, which failed to reach their designated altitude because of an upper-stage rocket issue after taking off from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre on March 13.

“The satellites have not been inserted into their designated orbit, and work is under way to address this problem,” state news agency Xinhua said at the time.

The US satellite catalogue showed the pair had raised their orbit from 524 x 132,577km to 1164 x 243,691km after the incident.

“This suggests to me that the DRO satellites are still trying to get to the moon,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launches and activity in space.

Can Chinese scientists solve the mysteries presented by Chang’e 5 moon samples?

DRO-A/B were planned to enter a so-called distant retrograde orbit, or DRO, at the moon. From there, they would work with DRO-L – a third satellite placed into low-Earth orbit last month – to test laser-based navigation technologies between Earth and the moon.

The apparent orbital climb, which had probably cost considerable satellite propellant, still could not inject the pair directly into a moon-bound trajectory, said amateur astronomer Scott Tilley, who is based in British Columbia, Canada.

“Getting the objects into a high Earth orbit and raising the perigee as they have done would allow them time to consider their options of getting them to the moon. At this stage, an entirely different trajectory plan would be needed to get the spacecraft to the moon or a DRO,” said Tilley who helped Nasa find one of its long-lost satellites in 2018.

Assuming the pair still had enough fuel, it might be possible to come up with a special trajectory and even recover the mission, he told the South China Morning Post on Monday.

In the next few days, Queqiao-2 will make further adjustments to enter a 24-hour-period final orbit, which is highly stable and will require little maintenance during its eight years of operation, according to CNSA.

From there, the 1.2kg (2.6lb) relay satellite will use its 4.2m-wide (2.6-mile) radio antenna to conduct communication tests with the Chang’e 4 spacecraft, which has been carrying out scientific research in the Von Kármán crater on the moon’s far side since 2019.

Like its predecessor Queqiao, which has been supporting Chang’e 4 for more than five years, Queqiao-2 allows communications between Earth and the moon’s far side which constantly faces away. It also helps devices on the lunar surface talk to each other, such as between a lander and a rover.

Queqiao-2 will pave the way for China’s coming Chang’e 6 mission, which is slated to launch in May to collect and return moon samples from the lunar far side for the first time.

Netizens mock British media claims of China propaganda link to Kate Middleton rumours

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3256866/netizens-mock-british-media-claims-china-propaganda-link-kate-middleton-rumours?utm_source=rss_feed

Suggestions by British media outlets that propaganda machines in China, Russia and Iran were peddling online rumours, speculation and conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton to “destabilise” British society have been met with disbelief and mockery on social media.

Commenters have also questioned whether recent issues surrounding Catherine, the Princess of Wales, and her well-being were a distraction from other problems facing Britons today.

“We are just onlookers, and now we can harm Britain’s national security?” a user reacted on Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu.

“I don’t recognise her,” another user on Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili said about Kate Middleton, adding: “I asked my boyfriend, he doesn’t either. I asked my friends on WeChat, and they don’t get it.”

A further user on Xiaohongshu said: “Of course, you can blame China for everything”.

On Monday, several British news media outlets cited sources in the British government to report that “hostile states” were fuelling misinformation about the princess.

“Part of the modus operandi of hostile states is to destabilise things – whether that is undermining the legitimacy of our elections or other institutions,” an unnamed source told The Telegraph.

Charlie Sansom, a British TV and radio commentator reacted on X, formerly Twitter: “This is pathetic. The British public asked reasonable questions. It’s got nothing to do with Chinese or Russian bot accounts. How desperate”.

Zichen Wang of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a think tank in Beijing, said he could not imagine Beijing having “an interest in the private affairs of the Princess of Wales. Unless, I am shown some evidence”.

After weeks of absence from the public eye, Kate last week announced in a video message she had been diagnosed with cancer. She did not share the form of cancer but said she was receiving preventive chemotherapy after abdominal surgery.

The message followed weeks of speculation about her well-being after Kensington Palace circulated an image of Kate with her children on Mother’s Day. However, multiple news agencies, including the Associated Press and Reuters, found the image had been “manipulated”. Her official account on X later apologised for the Photoshopped image.

The scandal led to the circulation of a slew of conspiracy theories, ranging from a troubled married life with Prince William to being in hiding or killed or replaced by a doppelgänger.

Even after her video, rumours have continued about the truthfulness of the cancer announcement. But netizens blamed the British media and the royal family itself for the speculation.

After a reporter was heard in a British breakfast show clip saying China, Russia and Iran could be behind some of the most “cruel” and “inhumane” comments about Kate, a user on X commented. “Oh for god’s sake! How is he able to say this stuff without bursting out laughing”.

Another reacted: “Destabilise society”, in #BrokenBritain? With what? Kate’s cancer?”

Japan’s royals join Instagram – with Kate Middleton’s cancer saga top of mind?

The user added that the public had moved on to “grapple with their lingering problems: the cost of living, the housing crisis and skyrocketing rents, the filth on the streets, the man-made dysfunctionality of NHS, and everything other than Kate, you could take it to the bank! It’s a media hype in which Kate is the nation’s most significant problem. Reality is different”.

Another commented: “Sure, let’s blame #China/#Russia/#Iran for the #BBC‘s sloppy reporting! Anything to deflect from their own mistakes. We’re meant to trust state media but can’t even question an obvious fake clip? Give me a break. Meanwhile the #monarchy lives tax-free as we struggle”.

Additional reporting by Ji Siqi in Washington

Former China Olympic champion who homeschools children to allow more play time criticised for depriving them chance to socialise

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3255489/former-china-olympic-champion-who-homeschools-children-allow-more-play-time-criticised-depriving?utm_source=rss_feed

Former Olympic champion Yang Wei’s decision to home school his twin daughters, in a bid to give them more playtime and maintain their health, has ignited a debate online.

Critics have raised concerns about the potential absence of sufficient socialising opportunities for the children.

Yang Wei is a former gymnast and Olympic champion known for leading China’s men’s team to a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and securing an individual all-around championship. His wife, Yang Yun, is also a distinguished gymnast.

On March 12, he shared a video on his Douyin account, which has over 2 million followers, titled: “What is the experience of not attending school for the first grade and having all private lessons?”

In the video, Yang disclosed that his twin daughters, who are old enough to start first grade, are currently being home schooled, a decision he made after they fell seriously ill three times last year.

He said his wife has taken on the role of head teacher, customising a special curriculum for the children, and he drives them to their lessons with private tutors.

Every week, Chinese and mathematics lessons are arranged with different tutors, and their classroom is a meeting room at Yang’s company.

Besides academic studies in the mornings, Yang arranges for his daughters to attend gymnastics practice in the afternoons, saying: “It’s equivalent to a whole afternoon of physical education.”

Yang highlighted several benefits of the private tutoring approach.

He said because the tutor has only two children to focus on, it enables meticulous attention to detail, while also noticeably improving his children’s study efficiency.

“Before, I was bombarded by endless messages in parent online groups. Now, in our parent group, there are only three people, and we receive concise learning reports about the children,” Yang said in the video.

“After classes, the teachers provide them with suggestions about study methods. It feels like the children’s learning efficiency has improved significantly,” he said.

The learning method allows for additional leisure time, which Yang says he fills with other meaningful activities.

“I take them to do housework, outdoor activities, getting close to nature. it makes their childhood more fulfilling,” he said.

Also, Yang finds home-schooling far less stressful than sending his children to school.

“I used to worry endlessly about them contracting various viruses from the outside, they repeatedly caught colds. Now, with them constantly under my watchful eye, my mind is at ease,” he said.

The release of the video quickly made headlines, sparking a debate online.

Some voiced support for his approach, expressing frustration with the intricacies of the current schooling system.

“If I was able to do it, I would. I’ve wanted to leave those messy online school groups for a long time. I’m tired of all those messages about arranging homework and tasks,” one online observer said.

“Even though education is compulsory, everything from the classroom brooms to the children’s homework exercise books is paid for by the parents – and at the start and end of each term, parents are asked to clean the classroom. It’s so annoying,” the person added.

Others argued that children should experience school life and develop their social skills.

“The best education is at school, not just for Chinese, maths and English, but also for other subjects. The interaction, cooperation and competition among classmates are things that home education simply cannot provide.”

[Technology] European flying car technology sold to China

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68669296

Cathay Pacific’s budget carrier HK Express eyes mainland China for expansion, aims to boost capacity

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3256836/cathay-pacifics-budget-carrier-hk-express-eyes-mainland-china-expansion-aims-boost-capacity?utm_source=rss_feed

Cathay Pacific Airways’ budget airline, HK Express, aims to double the number of flights to mainland China over the next two years and increase its overall capacity by the end of 2024 as it seeks to expand its global presence.

In an interview with the Post, HK Express CEO Jeanette Mao offered an upbeat assessment of the carrier’s outlook, saying she expected capacity to grow 20 per cent to 30 per cent by the end of this year, reaching 170 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from the present 140 per cent.

She also revealed plans to increase the low-cost carrier’s fleet from 35 aircraft to 40 this year and to 60 by 2028, as well as expand the number of destinations from the current 24 to 30 by the end of 2024.

Hong Kong’s Cathay predicts flight prices to drop as supply increases

“Based on the number of flights, Northeast Asia – such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan – accounts for 70 per cent of our total flights while Southeast Asia accounts for around 25 per cent, with the remaining 5 per cent to mainland China,” she said on Tuesday.

“So we expect in the next two years, our number of flights to mainland China can increase from 5 per cent to maybe 10 per cent of the total network.”

HK Express returned to profitability last year for the first time since it was acquired by Cathay Pacific in 2019, making HK$433 million compared with a HK$1.36 billion loss in 2022, owing to high demand for short-haul flights. Cathay acquired HK Express for HK$4.93 billion.

HK Express carried more than 4.1 million passengers in 2023, while the number this year hit an all-time monthly high of over 500,000 in March. It offered close to 24,000 flights last year.

Mao said the company was going to announce its third mainland destination very soon as part of its plans to expand its presence in the nation.

“Currently we only have Ningbo and Beijing Daxing [airport], these two destinations in the country. In the future we are expanding to more destinations in mainland China,” she said.

Amid growing demand for short-haul flights, Mao said bookings stayed strong for the Easter holiday, at about 94 per cent, with Japan the most popular destination.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific to reinstate service to Saudi Arabia

Mao said airfares would gradually adjust as supply grew to meet demand, but she predicted there would not be drastic reductions in ticket prices because of rising costs such as for labour and fuel, and inflationary pressure.

“This year the yield will continue to normalise because supply will increase. But the normalised trend will be gradual … It’ll be a mild adjustment,” she said.

“With our position as the only Hong Kong-based low-cost carrier, our commitment is to bring affordable fares to our customers in Hong Kong and around Asia … All airlines have a similar challenge.”

Hong Kong government hits out at Cathay over 786 flight cancellations in 2 months

Unlike Cathay Pacific, HK Express did not have any staffing issues but the company would hire an additional 500 aircrew to cope with its expansion this year, bringing the number to more than 1,200, Mao said.

“We have enough staff to make sure we reach 140 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity. I am confident we can recruit enough staff to fuel our growth by the end of this year,” she said.

“We recruit not only in Hong Kong, we are also actively recruiting overseas … For cabin crew, we recruit in the Greater Bay Area, and also in Japan, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.”

Vietnam minister credits ‘bamboo diplomacy’ for balancing nation’s relations with China and US

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3256847/vietnam-minister-credits-bamboo-diplomacy-balancing-nations-relations-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed

Vietnam’s foreign minister credited his Communist-ruled nation’s “bamboo diplomacy” for successfully balancing its relations with the rival global powers of China and the US, and said that the recent resignation of President Vo Van Thuong would not be destabilising.

“In 2023, Vietnam hosted both US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping – which means Vietnam wishes and can have good relations with all major powers, thanks to Vietnam’s bamboo diplomacy”, Bui Thanh Son said at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

In September, Biden visited Hanoi and the US and Vietnam – two former long-time foes – upgraded their diplomatic ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Three months later, Xi travelled to Hanoi on a state visit. With 37 bilateral deals, including on railways and telecommunications, Beijing and Hanoi ushered in what they described as a “golden era” of bilateral ties.

“Competition among major powers is natural, but conflict is not inevitable,” Son said, welcoming efforts to stabilise US-China relations after Biden and Xi held talks in November.

On Monday, Son had meetings with senior Biden administration officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the first ministerial-level talks since the upgrading of ties.

The discussions ranged from cooperation in semiconductor manufacturing to diversification of supply chains to critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

Son’s visit came as Vietnam strives to assure neighbours, allies and investors that the recent surprise resignation last week of President Vo Van Thuong over corruption allegations – would not lead to any political instability.

Vietnam tries to stabilise relations with China after ousting of president

“The resignation of the president, I think, will not affect our foreign policy as well as our own [domestic] policy of economic development. We have collective leadership. We have collective foreign policy. We have collective-decided economic-path development”, he said at Brookings.

Just a week earlier, a senior official of Vietnam’s Communist Party travelled to Beijing as part of an effort to “enhance political trust and consolidate a peaceful environment” and improve cooperation in “all fields”, according to the state-owned Vietnam News Agency.

Son said that “the region’s peace, stability and prosperity cannot be taken for granted” as it has become a “theatre for strategic competition” with many flash points, including the South China Sea, where both China and Vietnam have overlapping territorial claims. He urged the major powers to act responsibly.

With Washington’s pivot away from Beijing as it seeks to “de-risk” its relationship, Hanoi has received new-found attention from major investors and superpowers, managing to woo big tech players from both the West and China and developing its status as a manufacturing hub.

Vietnam has also upgraded diplomatic ties with US allies like Japan and Australia, and is part of Biden’s 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity grouping that intends to strengthen economic ties between the US and Southeast Asian allies to counter China’s regional influence.

However, differences remain.

“We hope that the United States will soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status,” Son said, adding that cooperation on trade could “elevate Vietnam’s position in the regional and global value chain, which also benefits the United States and other partners”.

South China Sea: Philippines must softly manage disputes or miss out economically

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3256605/south-china-sea-philippines-must-softly-manage-disputes-or-miss-out-economically?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines is going all in with the United States and bracing itself against lost Chinese largesse. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr will fly to Washington next month to attend the US-Japan-Philippines trilateral leaders’ summit. It will be his fourth visit to the US since taking office as president less than two years ago.

His trip comes as tensions in the South China Sea intensify and economic ties with Manila’s top trade partner begin to suffer. A recent report by the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University indicates a 100 per cent drop in China’s construction and non-financial investments in the Philippines last year. Based on the data, the only other Southeast Asian country in this category is strife-torn Myanmar, proof of how much the maritime dispute between China and the Philippines has affected economics.

This gives a whole new meaning to Marcos’ visits to the US, Japan, Australia and Germany to court investments and diplomatic support. It also raises the salience of the recent American trade and investment mission to Manila led by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Chinese finance and supply chains are transforming Southeast Asia’s infrastructure, renewable energy, mineral processing and electric vehicle landscape. But the Philippines is being left out. Does Manila’s drive to reduce China’s role in its economy come at the price of losing out to its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations?

The Philippines’ “assertive transparency” regarding disputes in the South China Sea has imposed reputational costs on China. Having done so without suffering backlash was hailed as a vindication, making Manila’s approach worthy of emulation by other claimants. But this faulty view discounts lost opportunities.

China not openly employing economic coercion does not mean the Philippines did not take a hit. Funding for three major railway projects was scuttled. Chinese inbound tourism dropped from a record high of 1.7 million arrivals in 2019 to fewer than 264,000 last year.

Chinese investors are looking elsewhere in the region. Chinese company BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, is reportedly planning to invest US$1.3 billion to produce EVs in Indonesia. Chinese battery giant CATL invested in Indonesian state-owned miner Antam to process nickel and make EV batteries.

In this context, it’s worth noting that the absence of Chinese import curbs on Philippine fruits, despite worsening ties, has more to do with former president Rodrigo Duterte than Marcos. Known for fostering friendly ties with Beijing, Duterte visited China last year and met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

His daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, is seen as a likely contender for the 2028 presidential race. The Dutertes differ from the Marcos family on foreign policy. The Duterte family comes from the Davao region of Mindanao, the centre of the country’s plantations, whose biggest market is China.

Hence, the Dutertes help insulate the country’s fruit exports from Chinese reprisal. The elder Duterte’s ascent to power in 2016 paved the way for the return of Philippine bananas to China after a hiatus triggered by a stand-off over the contested Scarborough Shoal in 2012.

But even with this accommodation, competition from neighbours is chipping away at Manila’s position in the lucrative Chinese market. Vietnam and Cambodia have upped their banana exports, as have Thailand and Malaysia when it comes to other fruits such as pineapples. Logistics works to their advantage, while geopolitics puts Philippine produce at a disadvantage.

China needs critical raw materials for its production. However, Chinese firms may not be keen to invest in Philippine mineral processing, given the political climate. Overall, commodities remain prone to external shocks from weak demand and price fluctuations.

This highlights the importance of climbing the value chain. Taiwan’s indispensable role in producing advanced chips has made other countries invest in its security. Indonesia is leveraging its enormous nickel reserves to be an EV battery production powerhouse. However, in the Philippines, the bandwidth expended on the South China Sea leaves little room to focus on the burgeoning economic and technology game.

This stands in stark contrast with the Philippines’ neighbours who have plans and the grit to carry them out. Such competition should shape a more nuanced outlook on maritime tensions.

BYD is expected to follow the lead of Chinese consortium SAIC-GM-Wuling to produce EVs in Indonesia. BYD also has a factory in Vietnam that makes electronic devices and parts. Chinese carmakers SAIC and BYD are joining Great Wall Motor to manufacture EVs in Thailand as the country becomes major hub serving the region’s bustling market.

Vietnam’s VinFast has entered into strategic partnerships with Chinese battery makers CATL and Gotion to improve its own EVs. Last year, it was announced that Chinese carmaker Geely is set to invest $10 billion in Proton to produce EVs in Malaysia.

Chinese solar module makers have been moving to Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, bypassing US sanctions and helping boost sustainable energy transitions in these fast-developing countries. Laos, riding on the back of Chinese-built dams, is becoming the battery of Southeast Asia, supplying hydroelectric power to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore.

China’s unsettling behaviour in the South China Sea does not invite approval. But neither does the Philippines’ gung-ho line. Subtlety does not equate to acquiescence. Noise does not necessarily translate into productive outcomes.

Unfettered clatter may even raise the stakes for accidents and stymie much-needed investment. Beijing’s transformative economic role in the region should temper sharp views towards it, shaping more delicate approaches to handling stubborn disputes.

China’s patent figures reveal it’s closing the gap on US quantum dominance

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3256824/chinas-patent-figures-reveal-its-closing-gap-us-quantum-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States and China have pursued different strategies to develop quantum technology – China has focused on using quantum science to secure communications, while the US has sought to develop advanced computing capabilities.

But the latest patent data released by China’s intellectual property office suggests Beijing may be shifting its approach in a field the US has long held a lead in.

Quantum computing, in which quantum science is harnessed to solve complex problems significantly faster than classical computers, accounted for 56.5 per cent of China’s total domestic patent grants from 2013 to 2022.

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

Quantum communications, which use quantum physics to secure data, accounted for 30.3 per cent of domestic patents during the same period, according to a paper in the March edition of the journal China Invention & Patent published by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

In the past 10 years, China’s quantum technology has “achieved a historical leap” from lagging behind top countries to becoming a leader in patents and production, the paper said, in reference to the country’s domestic quantum landscape.

In the same period, the country has achieved “quantum superiority”, according to another paper on global quantum patents in the same edition of the journal.

China accounted for 37 per cent of quantum patent applications worldwide from 2003 to 2022, surpassing the US at just over 28 per cent, the paper said.

In particular, China has emerged as a clear leader in the field of quantum communication, with milestones like the launch of the first quantum communications satellite.

However, when it comes to quantum computing and quantum sensing – or advanced motion-detection technology – it is widely accepted that the US has long held the lead.

A 2022 report by the London-based data analytics company GlobalData stated that China trailed the US in quantum computing technology by about five years.

But a new report released last month by the same company said that the countries now “stand almost neck-in-neck”.

The US is thought to have a lead in most aspects of quantum computing, except in specific subcategories like superconducting-related research, according to a report presented last month by the American think tank RAND Corporation to a US-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing.

The RAND report, however, said China’s edge in specific aspects of quantum computing made the US lead “debatable”.

The US incorporated quantum technology into national planning in 1994, while China only integrated the technology into national planning in 2013, according to the paper on global quantum technology.

China in 2009 surpassed the US in total quantum patent applications for the first time, despite its later start in the field.

China’s top science discoveries reveal research momentum, funding challenges

“It has developed rapidly”, the paper said, allowing it to produce advanced technologies at a leading level alongside the US. Still, the US still holds the largest share of highly-cited quantum patents, mostly in quantum computing.

Chinese scientists also publish less impactful research on quantum sensing, which has more significant military potential, according to the RAND report.

However, quantum sensing has been gaining considerably more attention in China, and patents are expected to significantly rise, according to the Chinese paper.

International cooperation between scientists is a major feature of Quantum research.

Last year, US president Joe Biden issued an executive order to restrict US investment into advanced technologies like quantum that was linked to countries of concern – such as China.

The RAND report – introduced at a hearing about the military deployment of quantum technology in China – suggested that “narrowly targeted” export controls on Chinese organisations would present a low risk to impacting American scientific progress in the country.

Loner China science man becomes online teaching hit after jobless 20 years

In contrast, the Chinese report on global quantum patents said that “international cooperation needs to be deepened and expanded”, including through technical cooperation with the US.

Despite major advancements in China’s quantum technology, the paper said that the environment for innovation still “needs to be optimised”, including more policy planning.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai denounces China for filing WTO complaint over EV subsidies

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3256848/us-trade-representative-katherine-tai-denounces-china-filing-wto-complaint-over-ev-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed

The US criticised China’s decision to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over “discriminatory” subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) on Tuesday, charging that the real unfair trader was the People’s Republic of China.

“We are carefully reviewing the consultation request,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the PRC continues to use unfair, non-market policies and practices to undermine fair competition and pursue the dominance of the PRC’s manufacturers, both in the PRC and in global markets.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its statement, the Office of the US Trade Representative did not mention EVs specifically – a growing area of tension between the two countries – but said the US mission in Geneva received word that China filed a WTO “consultation request” regarding “parts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and its implementing measures”.

Under WTO rules, if a member believes another member is violating a WTO agreement, it first initiates a consultation request identifying what agreements it believes have been violated.

This is followed by formal consultations between the two sides and, assuming no agreement is reached, a decision by a judicial panel, then implementation of the ruling and possible countermeasures if the losing side balks.

The US legislation aims to curb inflation, reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, invest in domestic energy production and promote clean energy. The Brookings Institution last year estimated the cost of the law, passed without a single Republican vote, at US$780 billion through 2031.

WTO faults Australian inquiry into trade dispute with China

Tai defended the law, which she characterised on Tuesday as a “groundbreaking tool for the United States to seriously address the global climate crisis and invest in US economic competitiveness”.

China is not the only one to bridle over the law. The European Union, Japan, South Korea and others have voiced their opposition to the incentives extended to US companies under the act, which sets aside over US$350 billion for the transition to cleaner energy.

“Given their size and design, the financial incentives deployed to meet the US’s climate objectives unfairly tilt the playing field to the advantage of production and investment in the US,” the EU said in an official response in November, accusing the US of launching a damaging global subsidy “race to the bottom”.

Will Hong Kong’s new Octopus card be a ‘game changer’ for travellers to mainland China?

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3256835/will-hong-kongs-new-octopus-card-be-game-changer-travellers-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Octopus, the ubiquitous payment platform in Hong Kong, has secured what may be its next big win in the form of a new card that allows users to top-up with ease and travel on public transport in 336 mainland Chinese cities.

Scores of elderly Hongkongers were seen queuing up to buy the “Octopus – China T-Union Card” as it launched on Tuesday.

For these Hongkongers, the product would mean a solution to dealing with mainland app payments that require a bit more tech sophistication.

The Post digs into how this card can benefit users.

1. How does the card work?

Holders of the new card can tap for rides on public transport bearing the “China T-Union” logos. This comes up to 38,000 public bus routes and 285 mainland rail or ferry services.

The China T-Union project is a nationwide one-card payment system developed in recent years.

While cardholders can top up the value in Hong Kong dollars, fares will be deducted in yuan, according to the company.

The card, which has a stored value limit of HK$3,000 (US$384), is automatically updated with the market foreign exchange rate effective upon top-up at kiosks or through a conversion on the app through money in the e-wallet.

The exchange rate is valid for a maximum of 90 days.

But the card cannot be used to pay for other transactions such as retail and dining.

The card, which retains all the original Octopus functions, can also be used in Hong Kong with multiple top-up options.

Users can add value through the Octopus app, opt for automatic top-up services, or visit designated top-up points to add value using cash.

Cardholders on the mainland can also add value through the Octopus app. For those in Shenzhen, they can top up at the Shenzhen UnionPay EPS Kiosk.

2. Where can I purchase the new card?

Starting from March 26, consumers can buy these new cards for HK$88 without a deposit at more than 7,000 Circle K convenience stores across the city, or the customer service centres at seven MTR stations: Hung Hom, Sheung Shui, Fanling, Lok Ma Chau, Kowloon Tong, Tsuen Wan and Admiralty.

3. What are the limitations of the new card?

When the stored value exceeds HK$1,000, some mainland card readers may not accurately display the balance due to varying limits in different cities across the border or differences in display settings.

In such instances, users can use the Octopus app to check their balance or transaction history.

Hong Kong’s new Octopus card offering mainland China travel gets warm reception

4. How does it differ from other cross-border transport cards?

The previous cross-border Octopus cards linking Hong Kong and mainland cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, required users to have a separate yuan account for their cross-border cards.

But the new version allows users to top up their balance with Hong Kong dollars.

5. Will the new card encourage more spending on the mainland?

Many people, especially senior citizens, queued up to buy the new Octopus card at the Kowloon Tong MTR station on the first day of its sale.

One said the card would be a “game changer” for elderly people who struggled to use QR wallets on their phones to pay for the fares on the mainland.

Since the commencement of border clearance between Hong Kong and the mainland last year, there has been a sustained surge in cross-border shopping, fuelled by the lower prices in the north compared with Hong Kong.

According to statistics from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, there were more than 50 million visits from the city to the mainland in 2023.

New CEO of Hong Kong’s Octopus aims to shift service ‘from plastic to phone’

Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist with Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, said the popularity of the new card might stimulate more cross-border spending.

“The streamlined transport payment will further reduce the hurdles and increase the attractiveness of trips to mainland China. It is likely to be most beneficial for older people and foreigners living in Hong Kong regarding convenience,” he said.

The economist added that the card might not be as game-changing, given its usage was limited to public transport.

“[Visiting the mainland] requires many more local apps to survive, such as taxis and other payments, which isn’t easy for someone not living in the same ecosystem,” Ng said.

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WTO faults Australian inquiry into trade dispute with China

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3256839/wto-faults-australian-inquiry-trade-dispute-china?utm_source=rss_feed

A World Trade Organization panel has ruled that some Australian measures against Chinese imports were not in line with its rules.

Canberra’s investigations into dumping and subsidising of railway wheels, stainless steel sinks and wind towers were flawed, the ruling said.

It follows a complaint from China over Australian anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures three years ago, in the midst of a fierce bilateral political and trade spat.

In all three cases, WTO judges found fault with how Australia conducted its investigation, specifically on how it compared the prices of the goods sold domestically in China and their prices abroad.

The ruling recommends that Australia amend or withdraw the measures, although some have already been resolved as part of a broader thaw in relations between the countries.

Australia announced last week that it would not renew trade remedy measures against imports of Chinese wind towers when they expire in April.

Last April, the countries suspended a WTO dispute over Chinese duties on Australian barley after Beijing decided to remove its 80.5 per cent anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the grain.

Six months later, a panel adjudicating whether China’s duties on Australian wine was also suspended, with the two governments negotiating a “pathway towards resolution of the dispute”.

China to end wine tariffs in ‘coming weeks’, Australia says, as ties improve

As it stands, those duties remain in place, but Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to Australia last week that a review of the tariffs was ongoing, with an outcome expected by the end of March.

During Wang’s visit, his Australian counterpart Penny Wong said she hoped that tariffs on beef and a ban on lobster imports would also be lifted and welcomed the removal of previous trade restrictions.

The bans and duties were imposed over a tumultuous couple of years in which geopolitical disagreements bubbled over into a full-blown trade war.

Relations soured after then Australian prime minister Scott Morrison pushed for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus during discussions with world leaders, including then US president Donald Trump, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, in April 2020.

A rapid series of official and unofficial Chinese trade measures soon followed, including bans on meat from some Australian processing plants, log timber from multiple states, coal, and scything duties on wine and barley.

But after the election of Labour Party leader Anthony Albanese in 2022, bilateral ties improved, with a flurry of diplomatic engagement ongoing.

Earlier on Tuesday, China filed a new WTO suit against the United States over what it claims to be “discriminatory subsidy policies” for electric vehicles.

“In the name of ‘coping with climate change’ and ‘low-carbon environmental protection’ the United States introduced the Inflation Reduction Act and its implementation details, using products from specific regions such as the United States as a prerequisite for subsidies, and formulated discriminatory subsidy policies for new energy vehicles, etc, including China,” read a statement posted on the Ministry of Commerce’s website.

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

It said the exclusion of products from other WTO member states “has distorted fair competition, seriously disrupted the global new energy vehicle industry chain and supply chain, and violated WTO rules such as national treatment and most-favoured-nation treatment”.

The European Union is currently investigating China’s own subsidies in its electric vehicle sector, with pre-disclosure expected in June and provision measures to be announced by July 5 at the latest.

In a notice requiring all electric vehicle imports from China to be registered at EU customs agencies earlier this month, the European Commission said it had “at its disposal sufficient evidence tending to show that imports of the product concerned from the PRC [China] are being subsidised”.

Chinese rail company CRRC withdraws bid from Bulgarian public tender amid EU inquiry

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3256843/chinese-rail-company-crrc-withdraws-bid-bulgarian-public-tender-amid-eu-inquiry?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese train maker has withdrawn from a public tender in Bulgaria after the European Union launched an investigation into a bid it said was undercutting local firms.

The inquiry, announced last month, was the first of its kind and marked the maiden use of a foreign subsidies regulation designed to stop state handouts from distorting the EU’s single market.

CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Co, a division of state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corporation, had hoped to provide 20 electric push-pull trains and their maintenance.

Its bid was reported to be around half that of a Spanish competitor, with the European Commission announcing that the Chinese company had withdrawn its bid on Tuesday evening. Brussels had alleged that CRRC had received almost US$2 billion in state subsidies.

“In just a few weeks, our first investigation under the foreign subsidies regulation has already yielded results,” said Thierry Breton, the commissioner for internal market of the European Union.

More to follow