• After Baltimore bridge collapse, unfounded conspiracy theories include a role for China
• Biden’s contest with China, calls for Hong Kong sanctions, anger over TikTok ‘disinformation’: 7 reads about US-China relations
• China willing to work with Indonesia to ‘run historic relay race well’, Xi tells Prabowo
• Chinese navy live-fire drills a ‘timely and forceful response’ to Philippines’ tilt to US, expert says
• China clears US$70 billion ‘low-altitude economy’ for take-off with promise of minimal interference
• China urges Europe to continue supporting free trade as French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné visits Beijing
• Ex-Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou starts ‘journey of peace’ in mainland China
• How Chinese Students Experience America
• Gold scams rising in China as middle-class investors seek safe-haven assets amid weak stock market, property crisis
• Tech war: China quietly making progress on new techniques to cut reliance on advanced ASML lithography machines
• Loyal Chinese woman stays with leukaemia hit fiancé as wedding looms, spends US$280,000 on treatment
• China-US relations: state media commentaries back President Xi Jinping’s call to develop ties for a ‘brighter future’
• South Korea-China ties under further strain over envoy’s alleged power abuse, as Yoon fights nepotism claims
• South China Sea: Philippines urged to prioritise diplomacy even as navy prepares for ‘worst-case scenario’
• Russia-Ukraine war live: France says it expects China to send ‘very clear messages’ to Russia
• China city lambasted for banning burning of ‘hell money’ to commemorate ancestors during Ching Ming Festival
• ‘Only negatives for China’ as Biden readies for trilateral Camp David rerun, this time with Marcos Jnr and Kishida
• Tesla raises price of its Shanghai-made Model Y electric car, shrugging off price war squeezing its rivals in China
• Japanese lawmaker says US Steel deal would help counter China dominance
• China’s factory activity expands at fastest pace in 13 months in March
• How China can best counter the US-Japan-South Korea alliance
• China’s hypersonic science aces train their sights on high-speed rail safety

After Baltimore bridge collapse, unfounded conspiracy theories include a role for China

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3257501/after-baltimore-bridge-collapse-unfounded-conspiracy-theories-include-role-china?utm_source=rss_feed

By the time daylight last Tuesday revealed the twisted remains of the Francis Scott Key bridge blocking the Port of Baltimore and analysts began assessing the disruption and economic damage it would cause, conspiracy theories were already flooding US social media.

China emerged as one among many supposed culprits – along with other alleged causes discussed in right-wing media bubbles like unchecked immigration and “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) mandates – in the hours and days after the disaster that killed six people.

What set the China angle apart from other speculation was the context of starkly negative public opinion about China in America; dire US assessments about the ways Beijing allegedly seeks to exploit vulnerabilities in the country’s national security; and Washington actions taken to counter them.

The collapse occurred just a day after both Britain and the US newly accused China of cyberespionage and stealing the data of millions of Americans including lawmakers, academics and journalists.

Crews work to lift first piece of Baltimore bridge in ‘complex operation’

With US-China relations remaining tense, Beijing was a suspect online, with several social media users citing repeated warnings by US government officials against possible cyberattacks on American infrastructure.

In many cases, the posts used these warnings as a foundation for their claims.

“With the shipping event in Baltimore, it seems important to remember very recent news about cyber vulnerabilities at our ports”, wrote Brian Costello, a data security expert with nearly 18,000 followers on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Costello noted that 80 per cent “of ship-to-shore cranes facilitating trade at US ports are manufactured in China and operate using Chinese software”.

ShanghaiPanda, an X account with more than 80,000 followers, poked fun at the allegations by assembling a video featuring some of the more outlandish claims, including one from Robert Spalding, identified as a retired general and a former China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.

In that post, Spalding asks “Chinese container ship?” above footage of the bridge falling onto the colliding vessel, the Dali, which is actually owned by a Singaporean company.

All these claims were entirely unfounded. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley has ruled out “any indication that the incident was intentional” and the FBI issued a statement on the day of the collapse saying that there was “no specific and credible information to suggest any ties to terrorism”.

Analysts said the speculation and rumours, though, came as a reminder of the side effects of the increasingly negative portrayal of China in the US, indicative of the general decline in the health of American media ecosystem and political discourse.

According to a November 2023 survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, around 58 per cent of Americans now view China’s rise as a threat to the US.

“When faced with shocking events, people tend to blame what they see as a common enemy”, observed Caitlin Chin-Rothmann, who researches the impact of technology on geopolitics and society at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

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

“The increasing anti-China rhetoric in the US has contributed to the conspiracy theories that Chinese cyberattacks caused the bridge collapse” because some “politicians and media commentators have used inflammatory or oversimplified language to describe China in the past,” she said.

Chin-Rothmann warned that widespread prevalence of conspiracy theories could result in “misinformation fatigue”, eroding the public’s ability to trust the information they see online, whether factual or fake.

“For this reason, if cyberattacks do target US critical infrastructure in the future – whether linked to China or not – it will become increasingly difficult for governments to coordinate cohesive responses among the public,” she added.

Bill Drexel, a technology and national security programme fellow at the Centre for a New American Security in Washington, said that linking China to the Baltimore bridge collapse was “corrosive to public trust and a dangerous distraction from focusing on Beijing’s very real malicious activities on American soil – totally counterproductive on both counts”.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, condemned the speculations of Beijing’s involvement as “purely malicious slander”. He added that China was ready to work with the US to “faithfully implement the important common understandings and outcomes reached at the summit meeting and jointly develop a right perception”.

Other recent measures by the US government in response to perceived threats from China include US President Joe Biden’s executive order on US port cybersecurity banning Chinese-manufactured shipping cranes.

In January, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks on US electrical grids and other infrastructure systems.

“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike”, he told a congressional panel.

The port of Baltimore is the ninth-largest in the US by total exports and imports. Last year, it handled 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth nearly $81 billion – mostly moving cars, auto parts, construction machinery and coal.

“I think an overly negative perception of China can make it difficult for people to differentiate facts from fiction,” Drexel said.

“But by the same token, a naivete or overly optimistic perception of the CCP can equally make it difficult for folks to differentiate facts from fiction.”

Biden’s contest with China, calls for Hong Kong sanctions, anger over TikTok ‘disinformation’: 7 reads about US-China relations

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257402/bidens-contest-china-calls-hong-kong-sanctions-anger-over-tiktok-disinformation-7-reads-about-us?utm_source=rss_feed

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

“We want competition with China, but not conflict,” declared an energetic 81-year-old Joe Biden earlier this month during his last State of the Union address as US president before the country goes to the polls in November. “We’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st century against China, or anyone else for that matter,” he said. Biden boasted of low US unemployment rates, controlled inflation and falling imports from China in contending that “America is rising”.

Read the full story here.

According to 2023 UN data, Chinese inventors led in international patent applications for the second year running, posting some 14,000 more than the second-place US. As China raises its game, reducing substandard filings, some analysts say its swooning economy and ageing population could blunt its innovation trajectory.

Read the full story here.

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. He also said 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,” Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Read the full story here.

US lawmakers urged the White House to sanction Hong Kong officials responsible for passing the city’s new domestic national security law hours after it came into force on March 23, while pledging to expedite legislation to strip the city’s American-based trade offices of special privileges. Separately, America’s top diplomat expressed “deep concern” over the new law’s “opaque provisions”.

Read the full story here.

In early February, a list titled “Buying Influence in Washington: The Top Firms Lobbying for China” made the rounds among Capitol Hill staffers. The list, which the South China Morning Post has seen, coincided with reports that lawmakers are considering a ban on members of Congress from meeting lobbyists who represent Chinese companies with alleged links to China’s military – even if the meeting being sought is for an American client.

Read the full story here.

American concerns over China’s green energy spending binge is likely to dominate the high-level talks between the two global powers in Beijing early next month. Citing excess capacity in industries like solar, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries because of huge Chinese government subsidies, the problem will be “a key issue” in discussions with senior Chinese officials during her second trip to China in a year, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech in late March.

Read the full story here.

On March 6, a day after the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would ban TikTok’s operations in the US if its Chinese-based parent company ByteDance didn’t divest in about six months, TikTok sent a notification to its US users asking them to “speak up” to prevent a “total ban”. Behind the scenes, much of Capitol Hill was furious. What TikTok said was “straight-up disinformation”, said a congressional staffer.

Read the full story here.

Also from the Post’s

The European Union’s imports from the Chinese region of Xinjiang surged in the first two months of the year, even as the bloc moved to finalise two laws aimed at tackling human rights complaints there. Exports from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the EU’s 27 members rose 217.8 per cent in January and February compared with the same period last year, according to the Post’s calculations based on new Chinese trade data.

Read the full story here.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled that some Australian measures against Chinese imports of railway wheels, stainless steel sinks and wind towers were not in line with its rules. In all three cases, WTO judges found fault with how Canberra conducted its investigation into alleged Chinese dumping, 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.

Read the full story here.

China willing to work with Indonesia to ‘run historic relay race well’, Xi tells Prabowo

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257486/china-willing-work-indonesia-run-historic-relay-race-well-xi-tells-prabowo?utm_source=rss_feed

President Xi Jinping on Monday said China was willing to deepen cooperation with Indonesia, calling for the two countries to push for an “equal” multipolar world and protect the interests of developing economies.

In a meeting with Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto in Beijing, Xi said China viewed its relations with Indonesia from a “strategic and long-term perspective”.

“[China] is willing to work with Indonesia to run the historic relay race well, continue to deepen all-round strategic cooperation, and build a China-Indonesia community with a shared future with regional and global influence,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Xi, who described China and Indonesia as “major developing countries”, said the two nations should pioneer South-South cooperation and create a model of mutual respect and common development.

In a world that was rapidly changing, the Chinese leader said both sides should “actively promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalisation”, boost multilateral cooperation, and safeguard the interests of developing countries.

China has in recent years sought to portray itself as a leader of developing countries and the so-called Global South, calling for greater inclusion of emerging economies on the world stage.

Xi told Prabowo that China was willing to maintain close exchanges with Indonesia, promote their comprehensive economic corridor projects, and continue strengthening maritime cooperation.

“China is willing to work with Indonesia to safeguard the unity and centrality of Asean, maintain an open and inclusive regional architecture, and build a closer China-Asean community with a shared future,” Xi said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Prabowo, who is currently defence minister, is in China on a three-day visit – his first overseas trip since winning the presidential race two months ago. He is expected to be inaugurated in October.

The 72-year-old former general was visiting China at Xi’s invitation and at a time when Beijing and Washington are seeking to expand their influence in the region and as tensions mount in the South China Sea.

According to the CCTV report, Prabowo called China a “major country with important influence” and a “strong cooperative partner” of Indonesia.

He told Xi that he supported the development of closer relations and was willing to continue outgoing leader Joko Widodo’s “friendly policy” towards China.

He said the new Indonesian government was ready to promote cooperation with China in fields including the economy and trade, and to strengthen coordination on international and regional affairs.

Xi said ties between China and Indonesia had achieved “significant” results under outgoing leader Widodo, who was more popularly known as Jokowi.

Relations deepened significantly under Widodo’s leadership, with China being Indonesia’s largest trading partner and second-largest foreign investor.

Calling the president-elect an “old friend of the Chinese people”, Xi said he believed Prabowo would continue the friendship between the two countries.

Prabowo said during his campaign that Indonesia would “maintain our independent foreign policy”, but observers say it is unclear whether he will take a hardline stance on China or continue Widodo’s pragmatic approach.

Asked about the visit last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Prabowo was expected to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of “mutual interest” with Chinese officials.

He said Prabowo’s visit to China demonstrated the “robustness” of ties, and that the two countries shared a “deep traditional friendship and close and strong cooperation”.

“The visit is a great opportunity to further enhance traditional friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, and better synergise development strategies to provide a good example of major developing countries embracing a shared future,” Lin said on Friday.

According to Indonesia’s defence ministry, Prabowo will hold talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Defence Minister Dong Jun on Tuesday.

Chinese navy live-fire drills a ‘timely and forceful response’ to Philippines’ tilt to US, expert says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257481/chinese-navy-live-fire-drills-timely-and-forceful-response-philippines-tilt-us-expert-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Recent live-fire drills by China’s navy in the South China Sea targeting “armed enemy fishing boats” were a warning shot to the Philippines as tensions between the two countries escalate over maritime disputes, observers said.

The drills were also a signal that Beijing had stepped up military preparations to counter Manila’s tilt towards Washington and its allies ahead of their annual Balikatan joint military exercises this month.

Chinese state media said the exercises, conducted by the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), were “high-intensity and multi-course real combat training” aimed at boosting the military’s combat capabilities in “complex battlefield environments”.

According to a report on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday, several Chinese warships including Xueshan and Lushan were sent to an unnamed area of the South China Sea to sink enemy targets such as armed militia fishing boats.

Other PLA ships, including Guangzhou, Dali and Chenzhou, have also recently conducted daytime and nighttime exercises separately in the South China Sea, the southern command said on Saturday.

The nationalist tabloid Global Times newspaper said the drills were designed to “test the contingency response capabilities of officers and soldiers, their ability to actually use weapons and their command coordination in complex battlefield environments”.

The paper said training modules included “dealing with complex and changeable enemy situations at sea and in the air – such as suspicious targets, armed enemy fishing boats, weapons threats, and other hostile elements”.

While the drills were part of the PLA’s training routines, Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military analyst and former politics professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said they were symbolically significant at a sensitive time.

“China clearly wants to reiterate its territorial claims in the maritime disputes and demonstrate that it is on high alert. The drills should be seen as a timely and forceful response from Beijing to a series of recent moves by the Philippines and the US threatening China’s strategic interests,” he said.

Tensions have been ratcheted up between China and the Philippines in recent months following collisions between Chinese coastguard ships and Philippine vessels near the contested Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as Renai Reef, in October.

China warns close military ties between US, Philippines could trigger conflict

Tempers flared last week, when Beijing again fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel on a resupply mission to a group of soldiers guarding a decaying warship intentionally grounded on a reef 25 years ago to bolster a sovereignty claim. Several Philippine military personnel were injured in last week’s clash.

US Indo-Pacific Command chief John Aquilino said last month Manila could invoke the 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty if a sailor or a member of its military is killed as China continues “to execute belligerent, dangerous and aggressive” actions against Filipino troops and fishermen in the disputed waters.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, who has pivoted his country towards the United States since he took office in 2022, vowed last week to take “deliberate” countermeasures against “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” by China’s coastguard. He also strengthened and expanded the government’s National Maritime Council last week to confront “a range of serious challenges” to territorial integrity and peace, without naming China.

Ni said Beijing was deeply concerned about Manila’s accelerating tilt towards Washington, especially their warming security and military ties, such as the annual joint military drills, and a plan to build a port in the northernmost Batanes islands, less than 200km (124 miles) from Taiwan.

“No one wants to further escalate the situation or a conflict, but neither side can afford to back down at the moment either. They have to talk tough on the sensitive territorial issues and make necessary preparations,” Ni said.

Philippines prepared for ‘worst-case scenario’ as South China Sea tensions rise

“But it does not mean they cannot coexist peacefully pending solutions to the highly charged maritime disputes. I think all sides need to remain calm and clear-eyed to prevent a mishap or a real conflict,” he added.

At least 11,000 American and 5,000 Philippine troops are expected to participate in this year’s exercises, known as Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder”, which kick off on April 22 and run until May 8. The French navy will also participate for the first time in the drills, which also include Australia’s navy.

At an unprecedented three-way summit scheduled next week in Washington, Marcos is expected to unveil plans with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to launch joint naval patrols in the South China Sea.

China clears US$70 billion ‘low-altitude economy’ for take-off with promise of minimal interference

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3257466/china-clears-us70-billion-low-altitude-economy-take-promise-minimal-interference?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has given the green light for more activity by drones and other aerial vehicles, an act which has triggered enthusiasm for the vast potential offered by the technology regarded as essential for boosting the country’s already soaring “low-altitude economy”.

“[We] will continuously improve support services for low-altitude flight activities, including plan approval, air traffic management, meteorological services, communication and surveillance,” said Sun Wensheng, deputy director of the department of general affairs at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The civil aviation regulator will also refine the airworthiness certification system for unmanned aircraft to expedite low-altitude economic development and coordinate policy, he said at a press conference on Friday.

His comments came amid a multifaceted effort by China to bolster what it terms the “low-altitude economy”, which Beijing listed as a strategic emerging industry at the tone-setting central economic work conference in December.

The term refers to a wide range of industries related to vehicles, both manned and unmanned, generally operating below an altitude of 1,000 metres.

The scale of this sector grew by 33.8 per cent year on year in 2023 to 506 billion yuan (US$70 billion) and is expected to surpass 1 trillion yuan by 2026, according to a report released by a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Monday.

Chinese AI drone system aims to beat fires in hard-to-reach places early

A nine-page guideline for the general aviation industry, released by the MIIT and other agencies, showed Beijing aimed to jump-start supply and innovation in general aviation equipment by 2027, with commercial applications in fields like urban air transport, logistics and emergency rescue.

“By 2030, a new development model for general aviation, characterised by high-end, intelligent and green features, will be established,” the guideline read.

“General aviation equipment will be fully integrated into production and life, becoming a powerful driving force for economic growth.”

Present products in the field are also widening their reach, with a variety of applications from manned airships to electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The AS700, a civil manned airship developed by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, completed its first transfer flight on Saturday according to a post from the company’s official social media account.

With the first delivery anticipated by the end of this year, the ship will first be deployed for use in tourism, and the research team expressed a desire to broaden its scope to other areas like emergency rescue and public services, the post read.

EVT Aerotechnics, a Nanjing-based eVTOL developer, also said on Sunday that its self-developed eVTOL aircraft ET9 had recently completed its maiden flight. The craft, the company said, could be mobilised to serve various sectors including high-frequency cargo transport, tourism, emergency rescue and urban air travel.

The scale of China’s eVTOL industry reached 980 million yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 77.3 per cent according to the MIIT report. The sector was projected to reach 9.5 billion yuan in value by 2026.

Civil drones saw their market share go up by 32 per cent to 117.43 billion last year, with industrial drones reaching 76.68 billion yuan. The multipurpose vehicles’ remit has expanded to include emergency support, energy inspection and agricultural and forestry protection.

“Civilian drones in China have pioneered industry-wide adoption in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries and aerial photography,” said Luo Hongjiang, an official with the civil aviation regulator, at Friday’s briefing.

“Logistics services of drones have expanded into urban commercial areas and communities. The airworthiness certification process for eVTOL aircraft is steadily advancing, and the future prospects of drone applications are bright.”

China urges Europe to continue supporting free trade as French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné visits Beijing

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257482/china-urges-europe-continue-supporting-free-trade-french-foreign-minister-stephane-sejourne-visits?utm_source=rss_feed

Europe should “support free trade” with China and follow the “policies of openness”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his visiting French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné on Monday.

Meanwhile, Séjourné told Wang that France wants China to send a “clear message” to Russia about the Ukraine war, adding that global trade depended on a just peace.

Séjourné, who was appointed to the post in January, told a joint press conference in Beijing: “We are convinced that there will be no lasting peace if it is not negotiated with the Ukrainians.

“There will be no security for Europeans if there is no peace in accordance with international law.

“It is an essential issue for us, which is why France is determined to maintain a close dialogue with China.”

He also raised concerns about North Korean and Iranian support for Russia, saying that would be a major escalation of the war.

China has said it is neutral in the conflict but maintains close ties with Moscow. Séjourné said Beijing “plays a key role in … respect for international law, including on Ukraine’s sovereignty, and therefore we are clearly expecting that China will send very clear messages to Russia”.

France’s Macron wants to run EU’s foreign policy but not everyone is convinced

The two ministers also called for an “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” in Gaza.

Séjourné’s visit is the second time a French foreign minister has gone to China in less than six months, following the trip by his predecessor Catherine Colonna in November.

During Monday’s meeting, Wang focused on Beijing’s concerns that Europe has been “de-risking” its supply chains to reduce its dependence on China.

“We hope that together with Europe, we will adhere to the policies of openness, support free trade and maintain the stability of the global industrial supply chain,” Wang said.

He also said China would like to buy more French products and services and provide a better operating environment for French companies in China. In return, Wang said, he hoped France would provide a “fair, just and predictable” business environment for Chinese firms.

Wang was also asked about a European Union probe into subsidies for Chinese electric vehicle makers that might result in new import duties. He responded by saying: “Only openness leads to progress, isolation only leads to backwardness.”

Séjourné said he had told Wang “that it is not desirable to decouple from China”. He said the European Union was still open to Chinese investment but wanted to “de-risk” the relationship after the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war had highlighted the dangers of being over reliant on one market.

‘Something must change’: EU chamber warns of unfolding ‘train accident’ with China

Wang said the two countries will continue cooperation in areas such as aerospace, nuclear energy, agriculture, finance, green energy, as well as science, education, sports, cultural heritage, as “our common interests far outweigh our differences”.

“I believe that it has been proved, and will continue to prove, that China is an opportunity and not a risk for Europe. Both sides are partners and not rivals,” Wang said.

---

Ex-Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou starts ‘journey of peace’ in mainland China

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3257478/ex-taiwan-leader-ma-ying-jeou-starts-journey-peace-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou is visiting mainland China on what he calls a “journey of peace” at a time when tensions are soaring across the strait.

The 11-day trip is Ma’s second visit in 12 months and comes ahead of the May 20 inauguration of president-elect William Lai Ching-te – described by Beijing as a “separatist” whose leadership could bring war to the island.

Ma – who is still seen as an influential figure in Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly camp and remains a senior member of the opposition Kuomintang – will reportedly meet President Xi Jinping next Monday, but neither side has confirmed the meeting. The pair last met in 2015 in Singapore when Ma was Taiwanese president, the first such summit since the two sides split in 1949.

On Monday, Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, said Ma hoped to meet his “old friend” Xi, but it was “up to the arrangement of the mainland side”.

Before he left for Shenzhen on Monday, Ma told reporters at the airport that his trip would be “a journey of peace and a journey of friendship”.

“In the face of the increasingly tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, I hope we can convey the sentiments of the Taiwanese people that they love peace, hope for cross-strait exchanges and hope to avoid war,” said Ma, who is leading a group of 20 students on the trip.

Ma said that – as he did last year when he led 50 students on a trip to the mainland – he aimed to promote youth exchanges between the two sides as he believed such interaction could help to “reduce cross-strait hostility and accumulate goodwill”.

The group was met by senior officials from the Taiwan Affairs Office at Shenzhen airport on Monday afternoon. Ma later met TAO chief Song Tao at an evening reception at Wuzhou Guest House, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Song passed on greetings from Xi and said compatriots from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were all Chinese and should “firmly oppose Taiwan independence separatist activities and external interference”.

“People from across the strait should actively promote exchanges and cooperation in various areas … enhance kinship … and boost peaceful and integrated development of cross-strait relations,” he said, adding the two sides should also strive for “national reunification and rejuvenation”.

Ma thanked Xi for his greetings, and called for more exchanges and cooperation.

Max Lo, executive director of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society think tank, said the meeting with Song on the first day of Ma’s trip suggested his visit was being given “more weight” by Beijing than last year, when they met on the fourth day.

Lo said that was likely because Beijing hoped Ma could serve as a bridge to ease rising tensions with Taipei.

10 years on, Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement has wilted but its legacy lingers on

Chang Wu-ueh, a professor of China studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said Beijing needed a platform to promote its cross-strait policies.

“Ma is a suitable platform after Lien Chan gradually retires from the political scene,” he said.

Lien, a former vice-president of Taiwan and former KMT chairman, made a landmark “journey of peace” to the mainland in 2005 that helped form a communication channel between Beijing and the Kuomintang.

“Ma’s visit should be able to help develop peaceful cross-strait relations in a certain way,” Chang said, adding that this was needed for Beijing to pacify the hawkish voices in mainland China.

Xi has said that Beijing’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, but that the preference was to do so peacefully. However there have been calls among the hawks in mainland China to retake the island by force.

Beijing sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be brought under mainland control and it has never renounced the use of force to do so. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as independent but are opposed to any unilateral change of the cross-strait status quo by force.

Ma’s visit comes at a time of heightened tensions. While Ma had a policy of engagement with the mainland when he was president from 2008 to 2016, relations have soured since Tsai Ing-wen, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, took office. Beijing has also been deeply critical of the DPP’s Lai, who won January’s presidential election.

Hostility worsened after the deaths in February of two mainland Chinese fishermen whose boat capsized as they fled the Taiwanese coastguard near the Taiwan-controlled island of Quemoy, or Kinmen.

Beijing accused the Taiwanese coastguard of using “violent and dangerous methods” in their pursuit, while Taipei said they had been enforcing the law by asking the fishermen to stop for an inspection.

Taiwan’s concerns grow over Quemoy waters as Beijing steps up patrols

In Shenzhen on Monday, Ma also visited camera drone maker DJI Technology, electric vehicle giant BYD Auto, and Tencent, the world’s largest video game company and operator of the WeChat messaging platform.

Ma will spend three days in Guangdong province, where he will pay respects at the Huanghuagang Martyr Cemetery and visit Sun Yat-sen’s former residence and the site of the Whampoa Military Academy.

The group will also visit Sun Yat-sen University for exchanges with students and staff, according to a schedule released by Ma’s office.

They will travel to Shaanxi province on Wednesday, taking part in events including the Ching Ming Festival memorial ceremony for the Yellow Emperor and visiting Emperor Qinshihhuang’s mausoleum and other historical sites.

The group is due to arrive in Beijing on Sunday and will visit Peking University, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Marco Polo Bridge and Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

How Chinese Students Experience America

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/08/how-chinese-students-experience-america

In my composition class at Sichuan University, in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, the first assignment was a personal essay. I gave some prompts in case students had trouble coming up with topics. One suggestion was to describe an incident in which the writer had felt excluded from a group. Another was to tell how he or she had responded when some endeavor went unexpectedly wrong. For the third prompt, I wrote:

Have you ever been involved in a situation that was extremely threatening, or dangerous, or somehow dramatic? Tell the story, along with what you learned.

It was September, 2019, and the class consisted of engineering majors who were in their first month at university. Like virtually all Chinese undergraduates, they had been admitted solely on the basis of scores on the gaokao, the national college-entrance examination. The gaokao is notorious for pressure, and most of my students chose to write about some aspect of their high-school experience. One girl described a cruel math instructor: “He is the person whose office you enter happily and exit with pain and inferiority.” Edith, a student from northern Sichuan Province, wrote about feeling excluded from her graduation banquet, because her father and his male work colleagues hijacked the event by giving long-winded speeches that praised one another. “That’s what I hate, being hypocritical as some adults,” she wrote.

Few students chose the third prompt. Some remarked that nothing dangerous or dramatic had ever happened, because they had spent so much of their short lives studying. But one boy, whom I’ll call Vincent, submitted an essay titled “A Day Trip to the Police Station.”

The story began with a policeman calling Vincent’s mother. The officer said that the police needed to see her son, but he wouldn’t explain why. After the call, Vincent tried to figure out if he had committed some crime. He was the only student who wrote his essay in the third person, as if this distance made it easier to describe his mind-set:

He was tracing the memory from birth to now, including but not limited to [the time] he broke a kid’s head in kindergarten, he used V.P.N. to browse YouTube to see some videos, and talked with his friends abroad in Facebook and so on. Suddenly he thought of the most possible thing that happened two years ago.

In the summer vacation in 2017, he bought an airsoft gun in the Internet, which is illegal in mainland China but legal in most countries or regions. Although it had been two years since then, he left his private information such as the address and his phone number. In modern society, it is possible to trace every information in the Internet and [especially] easy for police.

Vincent’s parents both worked tizhinei, within the government system. The boy approached his father for advice, and the older man didn’t lecture his son about following the rules. Vincent described their exchange:

“If you are asked about this matter,” dad said, “you just tell him that the seller mailed a toy gun and you were cheated. And then you felt unhappy and threw it away.”

Sure enough, two policemen came to his home the next day.

Vincent stood about six feet tall, a handsome boy with close-cropped hair. He always sat in the front of the class, and he enjoyed speaking up, unlike many of the other engineers, who tended to be shy. On the first day of the term, I asked students to list their favorite authors, and Vincent chose Wang Xiaobo, a Beijing novelist who wrote irreverent, sexually explicit fiction.

As with many of his classmates, Vincent hoped to complete his undergraduate degree in the United States. I was teaching at the Sichuan University–Pittsburgh Institute, or SCUPI. All SCUPI classes were in English, and after two or three years at Sichuan University students could transfer to the University of Pittsburgh or another foreign institution. SCUPI was one of many programs and exchanges designed to direct more Chinese students to the U.S. In the 2019-20 academic year, Chinese enrollment at American institutions reached an all-time high of 372,532.

Nobody in Vincent’s section had previously studied in the U.S. Almost all of them were middle class, and they often said that their goal was to complete their bachelor’s degree in America, stay on for a master’s or a Ph.D., and then come back to work in China. A generation earlier, the vast majority of Chinese students at American universities had stayed in the country, but the pattern changed dramatically with China’s new prosperity. In 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Education reported that, in the past decade, more than eighty per cent of Chinese students returned after completing their studies abroad.

Vincent also intended to make a career in China, but he had specific plans for his time in the U.S. Once, during a class discussion, he remarked that someday he would purchase both a car and a real firearm. The illegal airsoft pistol that he had acquired in high school shot only plastic pellets. In 2017, when Vincent ordered the gun, it had been delivered to his home at the bottom of a rice cooker, as camouflage. At the time, such subterfuges were still possible, but the government had since cracked down, as part of a general tightening under Xi Jinping.

In Vincent’s essay, he was surprised that the two policemen who arrived at his home didn’t mention the forbidden gun. Instead, they accused him of a much more shocking crime: spreading terrorist messages.

“That’s ridiculous,” Vincent said. “I have never browsed such videos, not to mention posted them in the Internet. You must be joking.”

“Maybe you didn’t post it by yourself,” the policeman said. “But the app may back up the video automatically.”

Vincent admitted that once, in a WeChat group, he had come across a terrorist video. The police instructed him to get his I.D. card and accompany them to the station. After they arrived, they entered a room labelled “Cybersecurity Police,” where Vincent was impressed by the officers’ politeness. (“It’s not scary at all, no handcuffs and no cage.”) The police informed him that they had found a host of sensitive and banned material on his cloud storage:

“But how interesting it is!” the policeman said. “They sent pornographic videos, traffic accident videos, [breaking news] videos, and funny videos.”

“Yes,” he said helplessly, “so I am innocent.”

“Yes, we believe you,” the policeman said. “But you have to [sign] the record because it is the fact that you posted the terrorism video in the Internet, which is illegal.”

On one level, the essay was terrifying—Chinese can be imprisoned for such crimes. But the calm tone created a strange sense of normalcy. The basic narrative was universal: a teen-ager makes a mistake, finds himself gently corrected, and gains new maturity. Along the way, he connects with the elders who love him. Part of this connection comes from what they share: the parents, rather than representing authority, are also powerless in the face of the larger system. The essay ended with the father giving advice that could be viewed as cynical, or heartwarming, or defeatist, or wise, or all these things at once:

“That’s why I always like to browse news [but] never comment on the Internet,” father said. “Because the Internet police really exist. And we have no private information, we can be easily investigated however you try to disguise yourself. So take care whatever you send on the Internet, my boy!”

From this matter, Vincent really gained some experience. First, take care about your account in the Internet, and focus on some basic setting like automatic backup. Besides, don’t send some words, videos, or photos freely. In China, there is Internet police focus on WeChat, QQ, Weibo, and other software. As it is said in 1984, “Big Brother is watching you.”

More than twenty years earlier, I had taught English at a small teachers’ college in a city called Fuling, less than three hundred miles east of Chengdu. The Fuling college was relatively low in the hierarchy of Chinese universities, but even such a place was highly selective. In 1996, the year that I started, only one out of twelve college-age Chinese was able to enter a tertiary educational institution. Almost all my students had grown up on farms, like the vast majority of citizens at that time.

In two years, I taught more than two hundred people, not one of whom went on to live abroad or attend a foreign graduate school. Most of them accepted government-assigned jobs in public middle schools or high schools, where they taught English, as part of China’s effort to improve education and engage with the outside world. Meanwhile, the government was expanding universities with remarkable speed. In less than ten years, the Fuling college grew from two thousand undergraduates to more than twenty thousand, a rate of increase that wasn’t unusual for Chinese institutions at that time. By 2019, the year that I returned, China’s enrollment rate of college-age citizens had risen, in the span of a single generation, from eight per cent to 51.6 per cent.

“O.K., go long, and then go about a hundred feet to your left or your right—who knows?”

Cartoon by Drew Panckeri

Link copied

When I had first arrived, in the nineties, I believed that improved education was bound to result in a more open society and political system. But in Fuling I began to understand that college in China might work differently than it did in the West. Students were indoctrinated by mandatory political classes, and Communist Party officials strictly controlled teaching materials. They were also skilled at identifying talent. In “River Town,” a book that I wrote about teaching in Fuling, I described my realization that the kind of young people I once imagined would become dissidents were in fact the most likely to be co-opted by the system: “The ones who were charismatic, intelligent, farsighted, and brave—those were the ones who had been recruited long ago as Party Members.”

This strategy long predated the Communists. China’s imperial examination system, the ancestor of the gaokao, was instituted in the seventh century and lasted for about thirteen hundred years. Through these centuries, education was closely aligned with political authority, because virtually all schooling was intended to prepare men for government service. That emphasis stood in sharp contrast with the West, where higher learning in pre-modern times often came out of religious institutions. Elizabeth J. Perry, a historian at Harvard, has described the ancient Chinese system as being effective at producing “educated acquiescence.” Perry used this phrase as the title for a 2019 paper that explores how today’s Party has built on the ancient tradition. “One might have expected,” she writes, “that opening China’s ivory tower to an infusion of scholars and dollars from around the world would work to liberalize the intellectual climate on Chinese campuses. Yet Chinese universities remain oases of political compliance.”

At Sichuan University, which is among the country’s top forty or so institutions, I recognized some tools of indoctrination that I remembered from the nineties. Political courses now included the ideas of Xi Jinping along with Marxism, and an elaborate system of Party-controlled fudaoyuan, or counsellors, advised and monitored students. But today’s undergraduates were much more skilled at getting their own information, and it seemed that most young people in my classes used V.P.N.s. They also impressed me as less inclined to join the Party. In 2017, a nationwide survey of university students showed decreased interest in Party membership. I noticed that many of my most talented and charismatic students, like Vincent, had no interest in joining.

But they weren’t necessarily progressive. In class, students debated the death penalty after reading George Orwell’s essay “A Hanging,” and Vincent was among the majority, which supported capital punishment. He described it as a human right—in his opinion, if a murderer is not properly punished, other citizens lose their right to a safe society. Another day, when I asked if political leaders should be directly elected, Vincent and most of his classmates said no. Once, I asked two questions: Does the Chinese education system do a good job of preparing people for life? Should the education system be significantly changed? Vincent and several others had the same answer to both: no.

The students rarely exhibited the kind of idealism that a Westerner associates with youth. They seemed to accept that the world is a flawed place, and they were prepared to make compromises. Even when Vincent wrote about his encounter with the Internet police, he never criticized the monitoring; instead, his point was that a Chinese citizen needs to be careful. In another essay, Vincent described learning to control himself after a rebellious phase in middle school and high school. “Now, I seem to know more about the world,” he wrote. “It’s too impractical to change a lot of things like the education system, the government policies.”

Vincent took another class with me the following fall, in 2020. That year, China had a series of vastly different responses to COVID. Early on, Party officials in Wuhan covered up reports of the virus, which spread unchecked in the city, killing thousands. By February, the national leadership had started to implement policies—strict quarantines, extensive testing, and abundant contact tracing—that proved highly effective in the pre-vaccination era. There wasn’t a single reported case at Sichuan University that year, and we conducted our fall classes without masks or social distancing. Our final session was on December 31st, and I asked students to write about how they characterized 2020. Vincent, like more than seventy per cent of his peers, wrote that it had been a good year. He described how his thinking had evolved after observing the initial mistakes in Wuhan:

Most people held negative attitudes to the government’s reaction, including me. Meanwhile, our freedom of expression was not protected and the supervision department did a lot to delete negative news, critical comments, and so on. I felt so sad about the Party and the country at that time.

But after things got better and seeing other countries’ worse behaviors, I feel so fortunate now and change my idea [about] China and the Party. Although I know there are still too many existing problems in China, I am convinced that the socialist system is more advanced especially in emergency cases.

In 2021, after suspending visa services for Chinese students during the pandemic, the U.S. resumed them. Throughout the spring, I fielded anxious questions from undergraduates who were thinking about going to America. One engineer itemized his concerns in an e-mail:

1. How to feel or deal with the discrimination when the two countries’ relationship [is] very nervous?

2. What are the root causes [in] America to cause today’s situation (drugs; distrust of the government, unemployment, and the most important, racial problem)?

They generally worried most about COVID, although guns, anti-Asian violence, and U.S.-China tensions were all prominent issues. One student who eventually went to America told me that in his home town, in northeastern China, ideas about the U.S. had changed dramatically since his childhood. “When people in the community went to America, the family was proud of them,” he said. “But this time, before I went, some family members came and they said, ‘You are going to the U.S.—it’s so dangerous!’ ”

Vincent’s mother was on a WeChat group for SCUPI parents, and that spring somebody posted an advisory from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.:

Since the COVID pandemic, there have been successive incidents of discrimination and violent crimes against Asians in some cities in the United States. . . . On March 16, three shooting incidents occurred in Atlanta and surrounding areas, killing 8 people, of whom 6 were Asian women, including 1 Chinese and 1 Chinese citizen. . . . When encountering such a situation, you must remain calm, deal with it properly, try to avoid quarrels and physical conflicts, and ensure your own safety.

That month, Vincent told me that he planned to buy a .38 revolver after arriving in Pittsburgh. He had already researched how to acquire a hunting license and a firearm-safety certificate. In July, a month before he was scheduled to leave, I had dinner with his mother. She said that she worried about gun violence and racial prejudice. “Lots of people say that now in America you can’t rise to the highest level if you are Chinese,” she said.

Vincent’s mother was born in 1974, the same year as many of the people I had taught in Fuling. Like them, she had benefitted from a stable government job during the era of China’s economic boom. She and her husband weren’t rich, but they were prepared to direct virtually all their resources toward Vincent’s education, a common pattern. Edith, the girl who wrote about her graduation banquet, told me that her parents were selling their downtown apartment and moving to the suburbs in order to pay her tuition at Pittsburgh—more than forty thousand dollars a year. Like Vincent, and like nearly ninety per cent of the people I taught, Edith was an only child. Her mother had majored in English in the nineties, when it was still hard to go overseas. After reading “Gone with the Wind” in college, she had dreamed of going abroad, and now she wanted her daughter to have the opportunity.

At dinner with Vincent’s mother, I asked how his generation was different from hers.

“They have more thoughts of their own,” she said. “They’re more creative. But they don’t have our experience of chiku, eating bitterness.”

Even so, she described Vincent as hardworking and unafraid of challenges. I saw these qualities in many students, which in some ways seemed counterintuitive. As only children from comfortable backgrounds who had spent high school in a bubble of gaokao preparation, they could have come across as sheltered or spoiled. But the exam is so difficult, and a modern Chinese childhood is so pressured, that even prosperous young people have experienced their own form of chiku.

They often seemed eager for a change of environment. In my classes, I required off-campus reporting projects, which aren’t common at Chinese universities. Some students clearly relished the opportunity to visit places that otherwise may have seemed illicit or inappropriate: Christian churches, gay bars, tattoo parlors. Occasionally, they travelled far afield. One boy in Vincent’s year who called himself Bruce, after Bruce Lee, rode a motorcycle several hundred miles into the Hengduan Mountains, at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, to research a road that had been constructed as part of China’s supply chain during the Second World War.

Vincent liked interacting with people from different backgrounds, and he researched a massage parlor, a seedy pool hall, and an outdoor marriage market in Chengdu’s People’s Park. At the marriage market, singles tried to find partners, often with the help of parents and various middlemen. In Vincent’s opinion, Chinese parents were too controlling, and young people had spent so much time studying that they had no dating experience. He wrote:

Because of one-child policy and traditional ideology, many parents consider their children as their treasure which belongs to the parents instead of the children themselves. . . . I hope the future Chinese children can have genuine liberty.

Vincent’s mother told me that she and her husband had made a point of allowing their son to decide for himself whether to go to America. But many parents were nervous, including Bruce’s father, who didn’t want his son to go to the U.S. because of the political tensions with China. In the end, Bruce decided to take a gap year before leaving. The delay was probably fortunate, because while researching the highway in the mountains he drove his motorcycle around a blind curve and was hit by a thirteen-ton dump truck. Bruce and the motorcycle slid beneath the truck; by some miracle, the vehicle came to a halt before killing the boy. I didn’t hear about the accident from the police, or the hospital, or anybody at the university. It was characteristic of these hardworking students that the news arrived in the form of an e-mailed request for an extension:

Dear Prof. Hessler,

I had an accident on my way to the Lexi Highway. I was turning a corner when I was hit by a truck. Now I have a fracture in my left hand and a piece of flesh has been grinded off my left hand. Then the ligaments and nerves were damaged, and the whole left hand was immobile. My left foot was also injured. It was badly bruised. The whole foot was swollen and couldn’t move. I’m in hospital now. I’ll have to stay in the hospital for a while before I can come back. So I may not be able to write the article about the Lexi Highway. I don’t know what to do now. Can I write the article at a later date? Because I can’t do my research right now. And it’s really hard for me to type with one hand.

Best wishes,

Bruce

The first time I saw Vincent in Pittsburgh, in October, 2021, he had lived in America for only eighty-two days, but already he had acquired a used Lexus sedan, a twelve-gauge Winchester shotgun, a Savage Axis XP 6.5 Creedmoor bolt-action rifle, and a Glock 19 handgun. “It’s the Toyota Camry of guns,” he said, explaining that the Glock was simple and reliable.

Vincent had studied the gun laws in Pennsylvania, learning that an applicant for a concealed-carry permit must be at least twenty-one, so he applied on his birthday. The permit cost twenty dollars and featured a photograph of Vincent standing in front of an American flag. He had also researched issues of jurisdiction. “I can use it in Ohio,” he said. “But not in California. I don’t like California.” One reason he disliked California was that state law follows the Castle Doctrine, which, in Vincent’s opinion, provides inadequate protection for gun owners. “Pennsylvania has Stand Your Ground,” he said, referring to a law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force in public spaces. “They made some adjustments to the Castle Doctrine.”

Vincent was thriving in his engineering classes, and he said that some of the math was easier than what he had studied in high school in China. His views about his home country were changing, in part because of the pandemic. Vaccines were now widespread, but the Party hadn’t adjusted its “zero COVID” strategy. “Their policy overreacts,” Vincent told me. “You should not require the government to do too many things and restrict our liberties. We should be responsible for ourselves. We should not require the government to be like our parents.”

“I’m a monster.”

Cartoon by Amy Hwang

Link copied

A couple of times, he had attended Sunday services at the Pittsburgh Chinese Church Oakland, an evangelical congregation that offered meals and various forms of support for students. In China, Vincent had never gone to church, but now he was exploring different denominations. He had his own way of classifying faiths. “For example, a church with all white Americans,” he said, referring to his options. “One of my classmates joined that. I think he likes it. He goes every week. He can earn so many profits. Even the Chinese church, they can pick you up from the airport, free. They can help you deliver furniture from some store, no charge. They do all kinds of things!”

In 2021, there were more than fifteen hundred Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh, and around three thousand at Carnegie Mellon, whose campus is less than a mile away. I came to associate the city with Sichuanese food, because I almost never ate anything else while meeting former students. Some of them, like Vincent, were trying to branch out into American activities, but for the most part they found it easy to maintain a Chinese life. Many still ordered from Taobao, which in the U.S. is slower than Amazon but has a much better selection of Chinese products. They also used various Chinese delivery apps: Fantuan, HungryPanda, FreshGoGo. The people I taught still relied heavily on V.P.N.s, although now they used them to hop in the other direction across China’s firewall. They needed the Chinese Internet in order to access various streaming apps and pop-music services, as well as to watch N.B.A. games with cheaper subscription fees and Mandarin commentary.

For students who wanted to play intercollegiate basketball, the Chinese even had their own league. An athletic boy named Ethan, who had been in my composition class at Sichuan University, was now the point guard for the Pittsburgh team. Ethan told me that about forty students had tried out and seventeen had made the cut. I asked if somebody like me could play.

“No white people,” Ethan said, laughing.

“What about hunxue’er?” The term means a person of mixed race.

“I think that works.”

One weekend in 2022, I watched Pitt play Carnegie Mellon. Or, more accurately, I watched “UPitt,” because that was the name on the jerseys. My father attended Pitt in the late sixties, and I had grown up wearing school paraphernalia, but I had never heard anybody refer to the place as UPitt. The colors were also different. Rather than using Pitt’s royal and gold, the Chinese had made up uniforms in white and navy blue, which, in this corner of Pennsylvania, verged on sacrilege: Penn State colors.

The team received no university funding, so it had found its own sponsors. Moello, a Chinese-owned athletic-clothing company in New York, made the uniforms, and Penguin Auto, a local dealership, paid to have its logo on the back, because Chinese students were reliable car buyers.

The Northeastern Chinese Basketball League, which is not limited to the Northeast, has more than a hundred teams across the U.S. On the day that I watched, the Pitt team played a fast, guard-dominated game, running plays that had been named for local public bus lines. “Qishiyi B!” the point guard would call out: 71B, a bus that runs to Highland Park. It was the first time I had attended a college basketball game in which the starting forward hit a vape pen in the huddle during time-outs.

The forward was originally from Tianjin, and his girlfriend was the team manager. She told me that she was trying to get him to stop vaping during games. Her name was Ren Yufan, and she was friendly and talkative; she went by the English name Ally. Ally had grown up in Shanghai and Nanjing, but she had attended high school at Christ the King Cathedral, a Catholic school in Lubbock, Texas, where she played tennis. “I was state sixth place in 2A,” she said. She noted that she had also been elected prom queen.

Ally often answered questions with “Yes, sir” or “No, sir,” and her English had a slight Texas twang. Her parents had sent her to Lubbock through a program that pairs Chinese children with American host families. Ally’s host family owned a farm, where she learned to ride a horse; she enjoyed Lubbock so much that she still returned for school holidays. In the past ten or so years, more Chinese have found ways to enroll their kids in U.S. high schools, in part to avoid gaokao agony. In Pittsburgh, my Sichuan University students described these Chinese as a class apart: typically, they come from wealthy families, and their English is better than that of the Chinese who arrive in college or afterward. Their work patterns are also different. Yingyi Ma, a Chinese-born sociologist at Syracuse University, who has conducted extensive surveys of students from the mainland, has observed that the longer the Chinese stay in the U.S. the less they report working harder than their American peers. Like any good Chinese math problem, this distinctly American form of regression toward the mean can be quantified. In Ma’s book “Ambitious and Anxious,” she reports on her survey results: “Specifically, one additional year of time in the United States can reduce the odds of putting in more effort than American peers by 14 percent.”

Ally’s boyfriend had attended a private high school in Pennsylvania that cost almost seventy thousand dollars a year, and he drove a Mercedes GLC. “We are using our parents’ money, but we can’t be as successful as our parents,” Ally said. Neither her father nor her mother had attended university, but they had thrived in construction and private business during the era of China’s rapid growth. Now the country’s economy was struggling, and Ally accepted the fact that her career opportunities would likely be worse than those of the previous generation. Nevertheless, she planned to return to China, because she wanted to be close to her parents. I asked if anything might make it hard to fit in after spending so many formative years in America.

“My personality,” she said. “I’m too outgoing.”

“There are no prom queens in China, right?”

“No, sir.”

By my second visit to Pittsburgh, in November, 2022, Vincent had decided to stay permanently in the U.S., been baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and added an AK-47 and two Sig Sauer handguns to his arsenal. He had also downgraded to a less expensive car, because the Lexus had been damaged in a crash. Rather than getting the Glock 19 of automobiles, Vincent decided on the Camry’s cousin, a used Toyota Prius. He picked me up in the Prius, and we headed out for a traditional Steel City meal of lajiao and prickly ash. Vincent wore a Sig Sauer P365 XL with a laser sight in a holster on his right hip. The car radio was playing “Water Tower Town,” a country song by Scotty McCreery:

In a water tower town, everybody waves
Church doors are the only thing that’s open on Sundays
Word travels fast, wheels turn slow. . . .

Earlier in the year, some Mormon missionaries had struck up a conversation with Vincent on campus. “Their koucai is really good,” he told me, using a word that means “eloquence.” “It helps me understand how to interact with people. They say things like ‘Those shoes are really nice!’ And they start talking, and then they ask you a question: ‘Are you familiar with the Book of Mormon?’ ” Now Vincent had a Chinese app for the Book of Mormon on his phone, and he attended services every Sunday. He had been baptized on July 23rd, which was also the day that he had quit drinking and smoking cigarettes, a habit he’d had since Sichuan University. He thought that the church might be a good place to meet a girlfriend. He had a notion that someday he’d like to have a big family and live in a place like Texas, whose gun laws appealed to him.

Corn grows high, crime stays low
There’s little towns everywhere where everybody knows. . . .

During the winter of Vincent’s first academic year in the U.S., his political transformation had been rapid. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos about things like June 4th,” he told me, referring to the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in 1989. He began to question the accommodationist views that he had previously held. “Young people are like this in China,” he said. “They tend to support the system.”

In the spring of 2022, Vincent became dismayed by the excessive COVID lockdown in Shanghai. He posted a series of critical remarks on social media, and in May he sent me an e-mail:

In recent months, I make some negative comments on WeChat on the humanitarian crisis caused by the lockdown in Shanghai and some other issues. My parents got nervous and asked me to delete these contents because their colleagues having me in their contact lists in WeChat read my “Pengyou Quan” [friends’ circle] and reminded my parents of potential risks of “Ju Bao” [political reporting] that would affect my parents’ jobs.

One day, a man who may have been from the Chinese security apparatus phoned Vincent’s parents. Unlike in the call from years before, this man didn’t identify himself as the police. But he said that Vincent’s actions could cause trouble for the family. Such anonymous warnings are occasionally made to the parents of overseas Chinese, and they weigh heavily on students.

Vincent deleted his WeChat comments. But he also decided that he couldn’t imagine returning to China. “I would say something and get arrested,” he told me. “I need to be in a place where I have freedom.” An older Chinese friend in Pittsburgh had made a similar decision, and he advised Vincent on how to eventually apply for a green card.

Vincent told his parents that he planned to stay in America for at least five years, but initially he didn’t say that his decision was permanent, because he worried that they would be upset. In the meantime, he didn’t want to waste their money, so he earned cash on the side by teaching Chinese students how to drive. Professional garages charged at least five hundred dollars to install a passenger brake, but Vincent found one on Taobao for about eighty-five dollars, including shipping from China. “I don’t know if it’s legal,” he told me. With his engineering skills, he was able to install the brake in the Prius.

“How about you wash and dry and I’ll curate a dish-washing playlist?”

Cartoon by Matthew Diffee

Link copied

The number of Chinese studying in the U.S. had dropped to the lowest level in nearly a decade. But there were still almost three hundred thousand, and many of them arrived in places like Pittsburgh and realized that qishiyi B and other public buses weren’t adequate for their needs. They preferred to hire driving instructors who spoke Mandarin, and Vincent’s rate was eighty dollars an hour. He charged even more for the use of his car during exams. Vincent told me that a Chinese-speaking driving instructor who hustled could earn at least two hundred thousand dollars a year. In my own business, the Chinese political climate had made it almost impossible for American journalists to get resident visas, and specialists of all sorts no longer had access to the country. Sometimes I envisioned a retraining program for old China hands: all of us could buy passenger brakes on Taobao and set up shop as mandarins of parallel parking.

I knew of only a few former students who, like Vincent, had already decided to make a permanent home outside China. It was viewed as an extreme step, and most of them preferred to keep their options open. But virtually all my former students in the U.S. planned to apply to graduate school here.

They were concerned about the economic and political situation in China, but they also often felt out of place in Pittsburgh. American racial attitudes sometimes mystified them. One engineer had taken a Pitt psychology class that frequently touched on race, and he said that it reminded him of the political-indoctrination classes at Sichuan University. In both situations, he felt that students weren’t supposed to ask questions. “They’re just telling you how to play with words,” he said. “Like in China when they say socialism is good. In America you will say, ‘Black lives matter.’ They are actually the same thing. When you are saying socialism is good, you are saying that capitalism is bad. You are hiding something behind your words. When you say, ‘Black lives matter,’ what are you saying? You are basically saying that Asian lives don’t matter, white lives don’t matter.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Chinese students to have been harassed on the streets. They often said, with some discomfort, that those who targeted them tended to be Black. Many of these incidents involved people shouting slurs from passing cars, but occasionally there was something more serious. One group of boys was riding a public bus at night when a passenger insulted them and stole some ice cream that they had just bought. Afterward, one of the students acquired a Beretta air pistol. He was wary of buying an actual gun, but he figured that the Beretta looked real enough to intimidate people.

One evening, I went out for Sichuanese food with four former students, including a couple who had been involved in that incident. They seemed to brush it off, and they were much more concerned about Sino-U.S. tensions. One mentioned that if there were a war over Taiwan he would have only three options. “I can go back to China, or I can go to Canada, or I can go somewhere else,” he said. “I won’t be able to stay here.”

“Look at what happened to the Japanese during World War Two,” another said. “They put them into camps. It would be the same here.”

They all believed that war was unlikely, although Xi Jinping made them nervous. Back in China, my students had generally avoided mentioning the leader by name, and in Pittsburgh they did the same.

“It all depends on one person now,” a student said at the dinner. “In the past, it wasn’t just one person. When you have a group of people, it’s more likely that somebody will think about the cost.”

I asked whether they would serve in the Chinese military if there were a war.

“They wouldn’t ask people like us to fight,” one boy said. He explained that, in a war, he wouldn’t return home if his country was the aggressor. “If China fires the first shot, then I will stay in America,” he said.

I asked why.

“Because I don’t believe that we should attack our tongbao, our compatriots.”

I knew of only one Pitt student who planned to return to China for graduate school. The student, whom I’ll call Jack, was accepted into an aerospace-engineering program at Jiao Tong University, in Shanghai. Jack was one of the top SCUPI students, and in an earlier era he would have had his pick of American grad schools. But Chinese aerospace jobs are generally connected to the military, and American institutions had become wary of training such students. Even if a university makes an offer of admission, it can be extremely difficult to get a student visa approved. “Ten years ago, it would have been fine,” Jack told me. “My future Ph.D. adviser got his Ph.D. at Ohio State in aerospace engineering.” He continued, “Everybody knows you can’t get this kind of degree in the U.S. anymore.”

When I met Jack for lunch, I initially didn’t recognize him. He had lost twenty pounds, because in Pittsburgh he had adopted a daily routine of a four-mile run. “In middle school and high school, my parents and grandparents always said you should eat a lot and study hard,” he said. “I became kind of fat.”

He had assimilated to American life more successfully than most of his peers, and his English had improved dramatically. He told me shyly that he had become good friends with a girl in his department. “Some of my friends from SCUPI are jealous because I have a friend who is a foreign girl, a white girl,” he said. “They make some jokes.”

He said that he would always remember Pittsburgh fondly, but he expected his departure to be final. “I don’t think I’ll come to the U.S. again,” he said. “They will check. If they see that you work with rockets, with the military, they won’t let you in.”

On the afternoon of January 10, 2023, at around three o’clock, in the neighborhood of Homewood, Vincent was stopped behind another vehicle at a traffic light when he heard a popping sound that he thought was fireworks. He was driving the Prius, and a Chinese graduate student from Carnegie Mellon sat in the passenger seat. Vincent wore a Sig Sauer P365 subcompact semi-automatic pistol in a concealed-carry holster on his right hip. The Carnegie Mellon student was preparing to get his driver’s license, and Vincent was taking him to practice at a test course in Penn Hills, an area that was known for occasional crime problems.

At the traffic light, Vincent saw a car approach at high speed and run a red light. Then there were more popping sounds. Vincent realized that they weren’t fireworks when a bullet cracked his windshield.

He ducked below the dashboard. In the process, his foot came off the brake, and the Prius struck the vehicle ahead of him. The shooting continued for a few seconds. After it stopped, the Carnegie Mellon student said, “Ge, brother, you just hit the car in front!”

“Get your head down!” Vincent shouted. He backed up, swerved around the other vehicle, and tore through a red light. After a block, he saw a crossing guard waiting for children who had just finished the day at Westinghouse Academy, a nearby public school.

“Shots fired, shots fired!” Vincent shouted. “Call 911!”

He parked on the side of the road, and soon he was joined by the driver whose car he had struck. They checked the bumpers; there wasn’t any damage. The driver, an elderly woman, didn’t seem particularly concerned about the shooting. She left before the police arrived.

A woman from a nearby house came out to talk with Vincent. She remarked that shootings actually weren’t so common, and then she walked off to pick up her child from Westinghouse Academy. After a while, a police officer drove up, carrying an AR-15. Vincent explained that he was also armed, and the officer thanked him for the information. He asked Vincent to wait until a detective arrived.

For more than two hours, Vincent sat in his car. The Carnegie Mellon student took an Uber home. When the detective finally showed up, his questions were perfunctory, and he didn’t seem interested in Vincent’s offer to provide dashboard-camera footage. A brief report about the incident appeared on a Twitter account called Real News and Alerts Allegheny County:

Shot Spotter Alert for 20 rounds

Vehicles outside of a school shooting at each other.

1 vehicle fled after firing shots.

Later that year, Vincent took me to the site. He recalled that during the incident he had repeatedly said, “Lord, save me!,” like Peter the Apostle on the Sea of Galilee. The lack of police response had surprised Vincent. “I didn’t know they didn’t care about a shooting,” he said. For our visit, he wore a Sig Sauer P320-M17 on his right hip. “Normally, I don’t open-carry,” he said. “But this gun can hold eighteen rounds.”

It had been four years since Vincent arrived in my class at Sichuan University. Have you ever been involved in a situation that was extremely threatening, or dangerous, or somehow dramatic? Back then, he had written about what happened when the Chinese Internet police came to his home. Now Vincent’s American story was one in which the police effectively didn’t come after twenty rounds had been fired near a school. But there was a similar sense of normalcy: everybody was calm; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The following month, four students were shot outside Westinghouse Academy.

I asked Vincent if the incident had changed his opinion about gun laws.

“No,” he said. “That’s why we should carry guns. Carrying a gun is more comfortable than wearing body armor.”

At Sichuan University, I also taught journalism to undergraduates from a range of departments. Last June, I sent out a detailed survey to more than a hundred and fifty students. One question asked if they intended to make their permanent home in China. A few weren’t certain, but, of the forty-three who answered, thirty said that they planned to live in China. There was no significant difference in the responses of students who were currently in China versus those abroad.

Since the pandemic, there have been increasing reports of young Chinese engaged in runxue, or “run philosophy,” escaping the country’s various pressures by going abroad permanently. A number of my students pushed back against the idea that runxue had wide appeal. “I think that’s just an expression of emotion, like saying, ‘I want to die,’ ” one student who was studying in Pittsburgh told me. “I don’t take it very seriously.” He planned to go to graduate school in America and then return home. He said that in China it was easy for him to avoid politics, whereas in Pittsburgh he couldn’t avoid the fact that he was a foreigner. During his initial few months in the city, he had experienced three unpleasant anti-Asian incidents. As a result, he had changed the route he walked to his bus stop. “I think I don’t belong here,” he said.

Cartoon by Paul Noth

Link copied

Yingyi Ma, the sociologist at Syracuse who has surveyed Chinese students in the U.S., has observed that almost sixty per cent of her respondents intend to return to their homeland. She told me that young Chinese rarely connect with the political climate in the U.S. “But what makes America appealing is the other aspects,” she said. “The agency. The self-acceptance. Over time, as they stay in the U.S., they figure out that they don’t have to change themselves.”

One former student told me that she might remain in America in part because people were less likely to make comments about her body. She’s not overweight, but she doesn’t have the tiny frame that is common among young Chinese women, and people in China constantly remarked on her size. In Pittsburgh, I met with Edith, the student who had written about her graduation banquet. Now she had dyed some of her hair purple and green, and she avoided video calls with her grandparents, who might judge her. Once, she had gone to a shooting range with Chinese classmates, and she had attended church-group meetings out of curiosity. She told me that recently she had taken up skateboarding as a hobby.

It was typical for students to pursue activities that would have been unlikely or impossible in China, and several boys became gun enthusiasts. Nationwide, rising numbers of Asian Americans have purchased firearms since the start of the pandemic, a trend that scholars attribute to fears of racism. One afternoon, I arranged to meet a former student named Steven at a shooting range outside Wexford, Pennsylvania. I knew that I was in the right parking lot when, amid all the pickup trucks, I saw a car with a bumper sticker that said “E=mc².” On the range, whenever the call came for a halt in shooting—“All clear!”—a bunch of bearded white guys in camo and Carhartt stalked out with staple guns to attach new paper covers to the targets. Steven, a shy, round-faced engineer in glasses, was the only Chinese at the range, and also the only person who used quilting pins for his target. He told me that the quilting pins were reusable and thus cheaper than staples. He had come with a Smith & Wesson M&P 5.7 handgun, a Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor bolt-action rifle, and a large Benchmade knife that he wore in a leather holster. At the range, he shot his rifle left-handed. When he was small, his father had thought that he was a natural lefty, but he was taught to write with his right hand, like all Chinese students. He told me that shooting was the first significant activity in which he had used his left.

On the same trip, I met Bruce for a classic Allegheny County dinner of mapo tofu and Chongqing chicken. After the accident in the Himalayas, Bruce had sworn off motorcycles. At Pitt, in addition to his engineering classes, he had learned auto repair by watching YouTube videos. He bought an old BMW, fixed it up, and sold it for a fifty-per-cent profit. He used the money to purchase a used Ford F-150 truck, which he customized so he could sleep in the cab for hiking and snowboarding excursions to the mountains. He had decorated the truck with two “thin blue line” American-flag decals and another pro-police insignia around the license plate. “That’s so it looks like I’m a hongbozi,” Bruce said, using the Mandarin translation of “redneck.” “People won’t honk at me or mess with me.” He opened the door and pointed out a tiny Chinese flag on the back of the driver’s seat. “You can’t see it from the outside,” he said, grinning.

Over time, I’ve also surveyed the people I taught in the nineties, and last year I asked both cohorts of former students the same question: Did the pandemic change anything significant about your personal opinions, beliefs, or values? The older group reported relatively few changes. Most are now around fifty years old, with stable teaching jobs that have not been affected by China’s economic problems. They typically live in third- or fourth-tier provincial cities, which were less likely to suffer brutal lockdowns than places like Shanghai and Beijing.

But members of the younger generation, who are likelier to live in larger cities and generally access more foreign information, responded very differently. “I can’t believe I’m still reading Mao Zedong Thought and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” one graduate student at a Chinese university wrote. “In this collectivist ideology, there is no respect for the dignity and worth of the individual.” Another woman, who was in graduate school in the United Kingdom, wrote, “Now I’ve switched to an anarchist. It reduces the stress when I have to read the news.”

Their generation is unique in Chinese history in the scope of their education and in their degree of contact with the outside world. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that their concerns are broader. In my survey, I asked what they worried about most, and, out of forty-seven responses, three mentioned politics. Another three worried about the possibility of war with Taiwan. Only one cited environmental issues. The vast majority of answers were personal, with more than half mentioning job opportunities or problems with graduate school. This seemed to reflect the tradition of “educated acquiescence”: there’s no point in concerning yourself with big questions and systemic flaws.

Nevertheless, their worldliness makes it harder to predict long-term outcomes, and I sense a new degree of unease. On a recent trip to California, I interviewed a former student who commented that even when she and her Chinese boyfriend were alone they instinctively covered their phones if they talked about politics, as if this would prevent surveillance. I noticed that, like many other former students, she never uttered the name Xi Jinping. Afterward, I asked her about it over e-mail, and she replied:

I do find myself avoiding mentioning Xi’s name directly in [California], even in private conversations and in places where I generally feel “safe.” . . . I guess it’s a thing that has been reinforced millions of times to the point that it just feels uncomfortable and daunting to say his full name, as it has too much association with unrestrained power and punishment.

In the survey of my Sichuan University students, I was most struck by responses to a simple query: Do you want to have children someday? The most common answer was no, and the trend was especially pronounced for women, at seventy-six per cent. Other surveys and studies in China indicate a similar pattern. One former student explained:

I think that Chinese children are more stressed and profoundly confused, which will continue. We are already a confused generation, and children’s upbringing requires long periods of companionship and observation and guidance, which is difficult to ensure in the face of intense social pressure. The future of Chinese society is an adventure and children do not “demand to be born.” I am worried that my children are not warriors and are lost in it.

By my third visit to Pittsburgh, in November, 2023, Vincent had graduated, been baptized again, and embarked on his first real American job. The previous year, I had attended Sunday services with him at a Mormon church, but this time he took me to the Church of the Ascension, an Anglican congregation near campus. When I asked why he had switched, he used a Chinese word, qihou. “Environment,” he said. “They aren’t pushy. The Mormons are too pushy.”

He liked the fact that the Anglicans were conservative but reasonable. He saw politics in similar terms: he disliked Donald Trump, but he considered himself most likely to vote as a traditional Republican if he became a citizen. He had been baptized in the Anglican Church on Easter. “I told them that I had already been baptized,” he explained. “But they said that because it was Mormon it doesn’t count.”

The previous summer, Vincent’s mother had visited Pittsburgh, where, among other places, he took her to church and to the shooting range. During the trip, he told her about his plan to live permanently in the U.S. When I spoke with her recently by phone, she still held out hope that he would someday return to China. “I don’t want him to stay in America,” she said. “But if that’s what he wants I won’t oppose it.” She said that she was impressed by how much her son had matured since going abroad.

After receiving his degree in industrial engineering, Vincent decided not to work in the field. He believed that he was best suited for a career in business, because he liked dealing with all kinds of people. He had started working for his landlord, Nick Kefalos, who managed real-estate properties around Pittsburgh. One morning, I accompanied Vincent when he stopped by Kefalos’s office to drop off a check from a tenant.

Kefalos was a wiry, energetic man of around seventy. He told me that on a couple of occasions a roommate had left an apartment and Vincent was able to find a replacement. At one point, he persuaded a Japanese American, a Serbian, and a Dane to share a unit, and all of them had got along ever since. “We could see that he had a knack,” Kefalos said. “He was able to find unrelated people and make good matches.” Kefalos also liked having a Chinese speaker on staff. “We think a diverse population is ideal,” he said. Vincent was currently studying for his real-estate license, and he hoped to start his own business someday.

Kefalos’s grandfather had come from Greece, and his father had worked as an electrical engineer in the steel industry. Many of his current tenants were immigrants. “My personal experience is that they are relatively hardworking,” he said. “And I think that’s true with most immigrants who come into the country. Whether it’s for education or a better life.” He looked up at Vincent and said, “My sense is that most U.S. citizens born in the United States don’t have any idea how fortunate they are.” ♦

Gold scams rising in China as middle-class investors seek safe-haven assets amid weak stock market, property crisis

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3257437/gold-scams-rising-china-middle-class-investors-seek-safe-haven-assets-amid-weak-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s weak stock market and ongoing property crisis, which have wiped out the wealth of the key middle class, has coincided with a growing number of gold-related scams amid strong interest in the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Gold purchases have soared in China in recent years amid the overall economic slowdown, along with low interest rates offered by wealth-management products and limited access to overseas investments.

“Gold is definitely already expensive, but it may probably continue to rise or at least retain its value, whereas we’ve lost money dramatically on our houses and stocks and most of our financial products, which may probably continue to decline in price.” Guangzhou-based saleswoman Wendy Liu told a customer last week.

Earlier this month, a Beijing-based franchise of a well-known gold brand was sued for fraud in a scheme that had allegedly cheated more than 70 investors out of over 60kg (132 pounds) of gold, the National Business Daily reported late last month. The case is ongoing.

Is gold now forever? China’s youth shun diamonds, seeking safe-haven investment

Some victims claimed they had invested in gold bars priced at about 350 yuan per gram from 2016, with the store promising to buy back their purchases in the future.

The retail price of gold jewellery in China has been as high as over 700 yuan (US$97).

But the store in central Beijing has closed, leaving victims unable to retrieve their gold bars.

In other provinces, many victims have also complained to local authorities that the gold jewellery they bought, whether in person or via online stores, contained large amounts of silver and rhenium.

China’s world-leading gold rush shows how other investments have lost shine

In Ningbo in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, a consumer bought 45 grams (1.6 ounces) of gold, which actually contained only 10 grams of pure gold, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

While investors in Europe and the United States sell gold, buying in developing countries led by China is supporting prices.

China’s domestic gold jewellery consumption reached a record high of 282 billion yuan (US$39 billion) in 2023, according to the World Gold Council, which predicted demand would remain strong in 2024.

About 11.7 per cent of China’s middle-class families held gold as their primary financial product last year, according to a white paper on the new middle class released by Wu Xiaobo Channel, the independent financial media company linked to the prominent economic and financial writer.

The World Gold Council’s 2023 Chinese jewellery retail market insights found that products lighter than 10 grams, or valued at less than 2,000 yuan, contributed the most to retail sales, with China’s younger generation increasingly keen to buy gold for value preservation.

Wu’s report showed 58.52 per cent of Generation Z – those born between 1996 and 2010 – in China had plans to buy gold, believing that it preserved value.

New gold shops are seen in shopping centres and commercial streets from first- to lower-tier cities, as well as in less affluent counties, said Fred Qiu, a business development manager for a jewellery brand focusing on the east China market.

“The retail price of gold jewellery in China’s market has risen dramatically over the past year, but so far the consumer mentality is to buy more as its price rises because, in the average person’s mind, the risk of buying gold is lower than that of the domestic real estate and stock market,” he said.

Tech war: China quietly making progress on new techniques to cut reliance on advanced ASML lithography machines

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3257442/tech-war-china-quietly-making-progress-new-techniques-cut-reliance-advanced-asml-lithography?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing-based Naura Technology Group started research on lithography systems last month, according to people familiar with the matter, as China’s home-grown semiconductor tool makers try workarounds to produce advanced chips without the latest equipment from Dutch giant ASML, a breakthrough that could potentially thwart US attempts to contain China’s chip-making capabilities.

The efforts, which involve multiple players in China’s semiconductor supply chain, have made preliminary research progress, with a patent application by Huawei Technologies last month revealing a technique known as self-aligned quadruple patterning, or SAQP, which can etch lines on silicon wafers multiple times to increase transistor density and chip performance.

The patent, which combines advanced etching and lithography, “will increase the design freedom of circuit patterns”, according to a filing to the China National Intellectual Property Administration, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

By using SAQP with deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines from Dutch giant ASML and Japanese suppliers like Nikon, China could make sophisticated 5-nanometre grade chips without the need for more advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tools only available from ASML.

US says Chinese firm SMIC’s Huawei chip ‘potentially’ broke American law

Chinese companies have been denied access to EUV technology, but have stockpiled DUV machines in recent years amid fears of tighter export controls by Washington and its allies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Beijing last week that “no force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological development and progress”, while Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao told his Dutch counterpart Geoffrey van Leeuwen that the Netherlands should fulfil “contractual obligations” and ensure “normal” trade of lithography machines.

Meanwhile, China’s decade-long effort to develop its own lithography machines has hit a wall. The state-owned Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE), the country’s sole lithography systems maker, has not come anywhere close to developing machines that match ASML. In December 2022, SMEE was added to a US trade blacklist over national security concerns, meaning it is even less likely to achieve a breakthrough.

A number of Chinese chip tool makers have emerged as important players in efforts to cut the country’s reliance on imported machines. Local semiconductor equipment leader Naura Technology Group has conducted preliminary research into lithography systems since March after it established a special programme last December, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The company has told a small group of engineers to begin research on lithography systems, which is beyond its traditional expertise in etching and film deposition, according to the people, who declined to be named because the discussions were private.

A spokesman for Naura told the Post on Monday the information was not “true”, without elaborating.

While it is far from certain that Naura’s new research efforts will pay off, the move shows the determination by the country’s chip industry to break US-orchestrated sanctions aimed at curbing China’s advances in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, these efforts are being conducted in absolute secrecy to avoid further sanctions from Washington, which views them as skirting existing export controls. The US government is considering blacklisting a number of Chinese semiconductor firms linked to Huawei Technologies after the Shenzhen-based tech giant achieved a noticeable breakthrough in advanced chips, Bloomberg reported last month. One of the potential targets is SiCarrier, a state-backed chip tool developer that works with Huawei, and was granted a patent related to SAQP late last year.

China ‘needs to focus on boosting domestic AI sector to close gap on US’

Amid this atmosphere, Huawei last week skipped its traditional press conference usually held after announcing annual results, over fears of taking questions about its secretive chip making efforts.

The involvement of Chinese firms across the chip tool supply chain is to be expected, as Beijing is pulling resources from all fronts to achieve breakthroughs, analysts said. Dan Hutcheson, vice-chairman of US-based IC research company TechInsights, said China’s SAQP research is likely to involve companies like Naura and SMEE, as etching and deposition expertise was required for lithography.

“It is driven by SiCarrier’s SAQP patent, which replaces optical lithography steps with etch and deposition steps and will help China get to 5-nm,” Hutcheson said.

Shenzhen-based SiCarrier was granted a similar patent by China’s intellectual property authority in December 2023, in which it describes a method to use DUV tools and SAQP to achieve 5-nm node production, according to its filing.

Separately, a research memo by Citigroup analysts claimed that Naura and local rival Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment were looking into complementary efforts on a new multiple-patterning technology that uses etching techniques to achieve 7-nm and more advanced chips, according to a Bloomberg report.

To be sure, achieving 7-nm, or even 5-nm grade chips, will still mean China is behind the state of the art. Global foundry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co produced 3-nm chips for Apple last year, and is scheduled to advance to 2-nm silicon enabled by ASML’s latest EUV machines.

But few are willing to bet against China when Beijing has the ability to mobilise the country’s entire semiconductor supply chain. By the end of 2023, Naura had applied for more than 7,900 patents, and had obtained rights to more than 4,600 of those, according to company stock filing in February.

Loyal Chinese woman stays with leukaemia hit fiancé as wedding looms, spends US$280,000 on treatment

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3256052/loyal-chinese-woman-stays-leukaemia-hit-fiance-wedding-looms-spends-us280000-treatment?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who remained loyal to her fiancé after he was diagnosed with leukaemia has moved many people online.

Liu Yue, from central China’s Henan province, was about to marry her boyfriend, Zhi Aohong, who she had been dating for 10 years.

But two months before their wedding, Zhi was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.

The rare disease has a five-year survival rate of below 20 per cent in China.

Liu said they have spent nearly two million yuan (US$280,000) on Zhi’s treatment so far, and have used up all their savings.

She said she will not give up, and will stay by his side until he recovers.

Zhi had a stem cell transplant but relapsed, so he is currently in a Beijing hospital having a second transplant.

Liu said Zhi is being kept alive by a doses of medicine every two days that costs tens of thousands of yuan.

Local media outlet Henan City Report reported that the couple were childhood sweethearts.

Zhi, who stopped studying after graduating from secondary school, had been working in Shanghai to financially support Liu’s studies until she graduated.

Liu said Zhi lived frugally, but was generous when it came to spending money on her.

She said she was so grateful to him. He never expected her to repay him or worried about her meeting other men at college and dumping him. She wanted to give him the same love and respect in return.

“I hope he will be strong. I will be the one who keeps out of the wind and rain for him,” Liu said.

She said many people have said she is silly, but vowed: “I will keep on being silly” and that they will marry one day.

Zhi endured great pain throughout his treatment, but he persevered with it for Liu’s sake.

Their story has had 4 million views on Douyin, the mainland version of TikTok.

“They are both faithful and I wish the best for them,” one person said.

“No matter what the end of their story will be, at least the decade in their life was not wasted on the wrong person. Their love let me see some light in the world,” said another.

Last August, mainland social media was moved by the story of a 24-year-old man in China who stayed with his girlfriend of five years after she was diagnosed with late-stage kidney failure. That was despite her asking him to leave because she did not want to become a burden.

China-US relations: state media commentaries back President Xi Jinping’s call to develop ties for a ‘brighter future’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257475/china-us-relations-state-media-commentaries-back-president-xi-jinpings-call-develop-ties-brighter?utm_source=rss_feed

A chorus of China’s state media has called for a “brighter future” in Sino-US ties, reinforcing the conciliatory tone Chinese President Xi Jinping displayed during his high-profile meeting with an American delegation.

The rhythm of cooperation between Beijing and Washington is getting “stronger and stronger” – both at the government-to-government level and in the society of both countries – while their shared stake in the relationship is a “new normal”, according to a commentary published by the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday.

It was the fourth and latest in a series that started on Thursday about the “sustained, steady and sound” development of the bilateral relationship.

The language used in the series was in sharp contrast to that in a Xinhua article nearly two weeks earlier when it accused the United States of having a “friend or foe” mindset that would “lead nowhere”, and argued that the decline of American hegemony had become a “visible reality”.

“If we always maintain a ‘bright heart’ that seeks win-win for both nations and the world, China and the US will surely illuminate the path ahead and march towards a ‘brighter future’,” Xinhua said in the most recent commentary on Sunday.

It echoed the message Xi imparted to a visiting group of US chief executives and think tank analysts on Wednesday.

The Chinese leader told them “China-US relations cannot go back to the old days, but they can embrace a brighter future”, while offering assurances Beijing would roll out more reform measures to improve the business climate in his country.

Since a heavyweight summit between Xi and his US counterpart Joe Biden in Woodside, California, nearly five months ago, the world’s two largest economies have seen increasing signs of the relationship stabilising, marked by more high-level visits, the continuing dialogues of several bilateral working groups and the growing number and frequency of unofficial and subnational contacts.

‘Rapid fraying’ of China-US ties seen in 2024, but full decoupling ‘unlikely’

US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen will visit China in early April, about nine months after her last trip to the country, the South China Morning Post reported last week.

In a commentary published on Saturday, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily also got on board to call for better China-US ties, framing win-win cooperation as the “underlying tone” of the relationship.

“Facing new developments and changes in China-US economic and trade relations in recent years, both sides must adhere to mutual respect, reciprocity and equal negotiation,” read the piece by Zhong Sheng – a homonym in Chinese for “the voice of China”.

“(China) is ready to work with the US together to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations.”

Still, the article once again blasted “decoupling” moves and warned of “confrontation and division” resulting from man-made barriers to technologies.

Beijing and Washington remain locked in a wide range of contests, from the Taiwan Strait and territorial flare-ups in the South China Sea to tit-for-tat trade restrictions amid a fierce tech war, as well as uncertainties from the US presidential election to come in November.

Yellen’s agenda during her visit to China this month will include challenging Beijing’s subsidies for clean energy industries with a warning about the risks of “excess capacity”.

The Biden administration last week revised rules on semiconductor exports to make it harder for China to access US artificial intelligence chips and chipmaking tools. The Chinese commerce ministry pushed back at the weekend, characterising the action as “arbitrary”, a reaction that came days after Beijing filed a complaint against US electric vehicle subsidies at the World Trade Organization.

In the state media series, Xinhua used its previous three commentaries on improving China-US relations to call on Washington to adopt a “correct strategic perception” of Beijing.

In the first piece on Thursday it said: “China never bets on the US losing, does not interfere in US domestic affairs, and has no intention of challenging or replacing the US. It welcomes a confident, open, and thriving US”.

In the following two articles, the agency called on the US and China to broaden and deepen their economic ties and urged them to have more people-to-people exchanges.

South Korea-China ties under further strain over envoy’s alleged power abuse, as Yoon fights nepotism claims

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3257465/south-korea-china-ties-under-further-strain-over-envoys-alleged-power-abuse-yoon-fights-nepotism?utm_source=rss_feed

South Korea’s ambassador to China, Chung Jae-ho, finds himself under intense scrutiny amid allegations of staff abuse, a development further straining the already tense relations between the two nations, analysts have said.

The controversy not only tarnishes President Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge to combat nepotism but also casts a shadow over his personal connections, given Chung’s close friendship and confidant status with the president.

Reports suggest that Chung stands accused of both bullying and mistreating embassy staff, prompting one attaché to file formal complaints with Seoul’s foreign ministry, accompanied by audio recordings capturing the ambassador’s alleged abusive conduct.

Is South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol at risk of becoming a lame duck president?

“When a case of misconduct is detected, it is thoroughly investigated and handled accordingly,” foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told journalists last week.

“We will also investigate this case thoroughly under this principle”, he said.

Chung denied the allegations as “unilateral and groundless”.

In a statement released last week, he said he would “restrain myself from further comments” pending the completion of the investigation.

Chung, 64, is a former international relations professor at Seoul National University. He was appointed in June 2022 as the first envoy to China under Yoon’s administration.

Chung is widely recognised as Yoon’s trusted confidant, with a bond that stretches back decades to when they were high-school classmates in Seoul.

Chung studied at the University of Michigan and led the Seoul National University’s China research institute before serving as a key adviser for Yoon on his diplomatic policy.

The ministry’s guidelines for combating gapjil (bullying) define it as insulting behaviour such as swearing, verbal abuse, assault, and unnecessary physical contact by a superior to a subordinate.

For serious gapjil cases, the ministry sanctions those responsible or reports to judicial authorities for them to press possible criminal charges against them.

Despite the ministry’s emphasis on an impartial investigation, there are doubts about how aggressively it will investigate Chung, according to the independent Hankyoreh newspaper, citing the ambassador’s close ties with the president.

China is one of the four major diplomatic partners of the South Korean government, along with the United States, Japan and Russia, and the appointment of ambassadors is highly scrutinised.

South Korea pivots to ‘hard-line’ on China as Yoon questions envoy’s comments

Chung had also repeatedly butted heads with South Korean correspondents soon after his appointment, the paper said.

Since September 2022, Chung had refused to take questions from journalists at monthly briefings after one news outlet broke an off-the-record promise and published his remarks under his real name, the Hankyoreh reported.

For more than a year now, he has reportedly been taking questions in advance via email and then reading out his pre-written answers without allowing reporters to ask follow-up questions.

“This gapjil incident couldn’t come at a worse time for the two countries,” Wi Sung-lac, South Korea’s former ambassador to Russia, told This Week in Asia, noting that relations between Seoul and Beijing were at their lowest ebb since 1992.

China and South Korea were unable to hold an anticipated bilateral summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November last year.

Under the conservative government, Seoul has aligned itself more closely with the US and Japan, straining ties with Russia and China.

The Yoon government has especially irritated Beijing for being vocal about tension in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, saying it opposes attempts to change the status quo by force.

Chung allegedly seldom met Chinese foreign ministry authorities since his appointment, using most of his “networking” expenses to meet foreign diplomats and foreign correspondents based in Beijing, the Hankyoreh reported, citing an embassy report submitted to the National Assembly in October last year.

“The tough stance taken by both the South Korean government and Ambassador Chung himself in diplomacy towards China could have made it all the more difficult for South Korean diplomats and Chung himself to meet top Chinese foreign ministry officials”, said Wi, the former ambassador.

The Chinese ambassador to Seoul, Xing Haiming, is widely shunned by South Korean government officials after Xing sparked Seoul’s anger in June last year over his presumed threats that Seoul would certainly “regret” if it “bets on the US entirely”, Wi said.

“Chinese diplomats may refuse to see Chung as a tit-for-tat,” Wi said.

Incheon National University Political Science Professor Lee Jun-han said the Chung episode had “dealt a blow to South Korea’s image abroad and undercut the morale of professional diplomats” as they saw themselves passed over for outsiders who were close to the power holder.

It comes on the heels of the controversy involving former defence minister Lee Jong-sup, whose appointment as ambassador to Australia last month sparked allegations that the government is seeking to help him escape justice.

Lee has been under investigation for the death of a marine in July last year in North Gyeongsang province during a controversial search and rescue mission. Lee returned home last month and gave up the post less than a month after his appointment.

“The double incidents suggest the foreign ministry is unable to rein in properly political appointees who have been assigned to overseas diplomatic posts,” said Kim Joon-hyung, former head of the National Diplomatic Academy.

Choi Jin, head of the think tank Institute of Presidential Leadership, said the purported gapjil incident had inflicted significant harm on national interests amid heightened geopolitical tensions surrounding the Korean peninsula.

“This is another bad news for the ruling conservatives ahead of the elections,” Choi said, referring to the crucial April 10 National Assembly elections where the ruling conservative People Power Party was expected to suffer a heavy loss.

South China Sea: Philippines urged to prioritise diplomacy even as navy prepares for ‘worst-case scenario’

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3257431/south-china-sea-philippines-urged-prioritise-diplomacy-even-navy-prepares-worst-case-scenario?utm_source=rss_feed

As tensions escalate in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration says it is refining its strategy to protect its territorial claims and ensure the monthly resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, following recent confrontations with the Chinese coastguard.

Analysts expressed concern over the growing military posturing, emphasising the urgent need for diplomatic negotiations alongside bolstering defence capabilities to prevent the dispute from spiralling into open conflict.

Philippine Armed Forces chief General Romeo Brawner said he had spoken with the nation’s coastguard, navy and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on updating troop rotations and the logistics for resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II navy ship that was grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal to reinforce Manila’s territorial claims over the surrounding area.

“We discussed many [issues] during our security cluster meeting, not just the ground operation. But we can do it as a country using all the instruments available to us,” he told reporters, adding the agencies were exploring all available countermeasure options.

“We will be adjusting our operations, but we can’t divulge what those adjustments are,” he said.

Marcos Jnr says Philippines will not be ‘cowed into silence’ by China

On March 23, three Philippine Navy sailors were injured when Chinese Coast Guard personnel fired water cannon at their vessels. Manila also accused the Chinese ships of conducting “dangerous” manoeuvres and blocking their civilian chartered resupply ship, the Unaizah May 4.

President Marcos Jnr said in a statement on Thursday that Manila would implement unspecified “countermeasures” to China’s “aggressive and dangerous attacks” against Filipino troops and fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, as he directed his defence forces and concerned government agencies to counter Beijing’s actions.

The West Philippine Sea is the name Manila uses to refer to the South China Sea’s waters that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Rommel Banlaoi, a national security analyst, told This Week in Asia on Sunday that he was alarmed with the current situation, given that both Manila and Beijing were increasing their military countermeasures.

“That will really raise the risk of armed conflict in the area,” said Banlaoi, a professor and counterterrorism analyst chief at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

Banlaoi said the Marcos Jnr administration should strengthen law enforcement and military capability to assert the country’s sovereign rights in West Philippine Sea, but he noted that would require “greater access to new maritime assets”.

“Meaning we need to buy new assets or get them from our allies … like from the United States, Japan and South Korea,” he said.

However, the key to resolving the conflict peacefully was through “negotiations and direct talks”, Banlaoi said.

“Any increase of military activities emanating from all parties – not just the Philippines, China and Vietnam – can only make it difficult to peacefully resolve the dispute,” he said, noting that the actions of both parties only contributed to the increase in tensions.

Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos, a navy official tasked with looking after the country’s territory in the West Philippine Sea, said they were studying all scenarios that could happen if the situation escalated in the next mission.

“We are ready for what they are going to do. The troops stationed at Sierra Madre are prepared for the worst-case scenario,” he said. “We are studying all options. It’s unacceptable if we are going to stop the resupply mission.”

Military historian and defence analyst Jose Antonio Custodio said Manila should also consider mobilising the support of the Filipino people in asserting its interests and rights in the West Philippine Sea through support for its continuous presence in garrisons, fishing activities and educational programmes for public awareness.

“We have to increase activities with our US ally and other partners like Japan and Australia,” he said.

During the Holy Week, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Philippine Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jnr discussed by phone the issue surrounding the Second Thomas Shoal.

“Secretary Austin reaffirmed the ironclad US commitment to the Philippines following the People’s Republic of China Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous obstruction of a lawful Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal on March 23,” a readout coming from the US Department of Defence stated.

“He emphasised US support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and reiterated that the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty extends to both countries’ armed forces, public vessels and aircraft – including those of its coastguard – anywhere in the Pacific, to include the South China Sea,” it added.

Is the Philippines becoming a US ‘proxy’ against Beijing in the South China Sea?

Manila and Washington have an existing Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) designed to enhance force capability and strengthen cooperation in the areas of maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Signed in 1951, the MDT calls on both countries to aid each other in times of aggression by an external power. In previous pronouncements, the Pentagon said it was prepared to assist Manila if it invoked the treaty amid threats from other nations.

On Sunday, Marcos Jnr issued an executive order for the government “to comprehensively tackle” cross-cutting issues that impact the Philippines’ national security, sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction over its extensive maritime zones.

“Despite efforts to promote stability and security in our maritime domain, the Philippines continues to confront a range of serious challenges that threaten not only the country’s territorial integrity, but also the peaceful existence of Filipinos, including their fundamental right to live in peace and freedom, free from fear of violence and threat,” the order stated.

The announcement came after the president said Manila would implement countermeasures against “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks” by China’s coastguard and maritime militia.

Maritime security expert Ray Powell, a retired US Air Force officer, said the executive order appeared to signal a reorganisation and reprioritisation of resources with regard to activities in the WPS.

“This seems to be intended to coordinate oversight of WPS missions and align them with national priorities,” Powell told This Week in Asia.

Rear Admiral Armand Balilo, a spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, said they would scale up patrols in the contested waters.

“We will step up our operation not only in Ayungin Shoal, but in other areas. That’s part of our work,” Balilo said, referring to the Philippines’ name for the Second Thomas Shoal.

Duterte-Xi allegedly made ‘gentleman’s agreement’ for status quo in disputed sea

Last week, Harry Roque, who served as former president Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman for several years, the reason for China’s recent water cannon attacks on Philippine vessels might be traced to his former boss’ “gentleman’s agreement” with Chinese President Xi Jinping to maintain the status quo in the South China Sea, particularly its stipulation that no construction or repairs to any installations should be undertaken within the disputed area and only “food and water supplies” could be delivered to Filipino sailors on the Sierra Madre.

Roque reasoned that Beijing felt Manila had violated the unwritten agreement during its recent resupply missions, even though Beijing had no reason to believe that Marcos Jnr would maintain his predecessor’s pact.

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Duterte had acted beyond his authority and surrendered the country’s rights if he did indeed enter into such an understanding with China.

“That ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was a disguised surrender of our EEZ rights over Ayungin Shoal, as it gave China veto power over our exclusive right to erect structures on Ayungin Shoal,” Carpio said on Thursday.

Russia-Ukraine war live: France says it expects China to send ‘very clear messages’ to Russia

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/apr/01/russia-ukraine-war-live-france-says-it-expects-china-to-send-very-clear-messages-to-russia

China city lambasted for banning burning of ‘hell money’ to commemorate ancestors during Ching Ming Festival

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3257204/china-city-lambasted-banning-burning-hell-money-commemorate-ancestors-during-ching-ming-festival?utm_source=rss_feed

A city in China that has banned the manufacture and sale of ghost money and other paper funeral products used to worship ancestors has been told the rule is “too straightforward and rude”.

Burning paper gifts for the dead, such as miniatures of gold bars, cars, houses, animals and even maids, is an important traditional ritual for Chinese people when they visit the graves of their ancestors.

As well as a way of paying respect, burning paper gifts is also believed to ensure that deceased loved ones will be wealthy in the afterlife.

Ahead of this year’s Ching Ming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Festival, which falls on April 4, the authorities in Nantong, in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu, have come under scrutiny after they outlawed the making or selling of paper offerings.

While branding the offerings a “symbol of feudal superstition”, the authorities said the main reason for the ban was to protect the environment and prevent fires, the news outlet, thecover.cn reported.

Anyone who violates the rule will have their products confiscated and be fined up to three times their income, the local civil affairs and market supervision authorities said on March 25.

The Nantong government said the public should commemorate their forefathers using “green and environmental means” such as giving flowers, planting trees and writing letters.

The order from the city has sparked an outpouring of criticism on mainland social media, with the state-run China National Radio (CNR) joining the discussion.

“Burning paper money for ancestors is not a feudal superstition, it is what Chinese people have done to mourn their ancestors for a very long time,” the media outlet said in an editorial on March 27.

“You can call on the public to adopt environmental ways, but simply banning people from burning paper money is too straightforward and rude.

“This management style is not practical and lacks human warmth. We suggest the authorities be prudent when making this order,” CNR said.

“We have noticed the reaction on the internet, and will research whether or not we need to change the rule,” an official from the Nantong municipal civil affairs authority told thecover.cn.

Nantong is not the only city in China to run counter to the long-held Ching Ming Festival practice.

In the past couple of years, other mainland cities including Beijing, Chongqing in southwestern China, Tianjin in the north, and Liaoyang of the northeastern Liaoning province, introduced similar rules.

“It’s not superstition. It’s our belief. It is a method of communication between us and our dead relatives,” said one person on Douyin.

“It’s a cultural tradition of China. We inherited this practice from our ancestors. I don’t support cancelling this custom,” another said.

‘Only negatives for China’ as Biden readies for trilateral Camp David rerun, this time with Marcos Jnr and Kishida

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3257422/only-negatives-china-biden-readies-trilateral-camp-david-rerun-time-marcos-jnr-and-kishida?utm_source=rss_feed

US President Joe Biden is set to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in Washington in 10 days, the latest in America’s outreach to the region as it tries to counter Beijing’s influence.

The first US-Japan-Philippines summit will advance not only trilateral security, economic and technological ties but also their cooperation on “peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world”, the White House has said.

Analysts said the urgency driving the summit was China’s growing military might, especially in the South China Sea where its territorial disputes with the Philippines have sparked maritime face-offs, as well as shared concerns over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The meeting would also be an opportunity for the US and its two treaty allies to institutionalise their three-way defence arrangement, further deepening security ties as a counterweight to China, the observers said.

They expect Beijing to view the summit as another Camp David, the venue for the historic US-hosted trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea last August which also sparked closer security partnerships.

A wary Beijing closely watched that summit, and will be doing the same this time around, according to the analysts, with one expecting only negative reactions from China no matter what level of trilateral cooperation is reached.

Zhu Feng, executive dean of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, said Beijing might view the April 11 summit as not only a continuation and extension of the one in August, but also the latest attempt by the US to forge defence partnerships with an eye on China – such as Aukus with Australia and the United Kingdom.

“From China’s perspective, the April leaders’ meeting is one more geopolitical move by Washington to expand its strategic intervention in the South China Sea,” he said, adding that Washington was keen to set up small regional alliances to collectively contain China.

Philippines boosts maritime security as tension with China boils over

Zhu said the coming meeting was proof that, even after November’s long-awaited US-China summit in San Francisco and continued high-level dialogue since then, Washington’s strategic containment of Beijing was still “rock solid”.

The summit was announced as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Manila last week to affirm Washington’s “unwavering commitment”.

At a joint news briefing during the visit, Blinken’s Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo said the three leaders would aim “to capitalise” on the complementary elements of existing Philippine-US and Philippine-Japan bilateral cooperation, including maritime security.

Blinken also said a trilateral relationship with Japan would serve as “a very important platform for building even greater stability and deepening peace [in the Indo-Pacific].”

According to Kei Koga, associate professor for public policy and global affairs at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Beijing’s response was likely to be shaped by the outcome of the summit.

A negative diplomatic reaction was likely if the summit was limited to dialogue, he said, but a stronger response might be expected if there were signals of greater maritime cooperation in the South China Sea.

“But either way, China’s reaction will be negative.”

China might also “test the degree to which these trilateral initiatives can be serious by temporarily increasing its maritime presence”, he added.

Observers also believe the timing is right to formalise the trilateral cooperation, with the US, Japan and Philippines already upgrading bilateral defence ties.

Chester Cabalza, a security strategist and founding president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC) think tank, said the coming summit might be the “best time to formalise a triangular defence arrangement” to improve interoperability.

“This emerging triad will certainly set new parameters for building a network of strategic alliances to deepen defence ties based on mutual trust and common threat,” Cabalza said.

Japan-Philippines ties have grown closer in recent years, with Tokyo one of the main donors to Manila’s economic and development initiatives. Japan’s first overseas security assistance project also went to the Philippines, with a US$4 million grant to boost coastal radar systems announced in November.

Tokyo and Manila are also negotiating a reciprocal access agreement for their militaries, potentially paving the way for joint drills and training. It would be the third such agreement for Japan, after those with Britain and Australia.

Manila already has such an agreement with Washington under the Visiting Forces Agreement effective in 1999, which lets the US side host joint military exercises and operations in the Philippines.

The 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement also increased the non-permanent presence of US military forces in the Philippines, apart from expanding US access to Philippine military bases.

Ding Duo, an associate research fellow at China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies, forecast the creation of a trilateral mechanism to advance “more substantial security and defence cooperation”.

“It may include more joint air and sea patrols, increased frequency of military drills, greater support for equipment and funding, and enhanced interoperability of the armed forces when it comes to the Taiwan crisis,” Ding said, adding that deeper integration of military capabilities was likely.

While China remains the most important topic for all three countries, the summit was unlikely to focus only on that, Koga at NTU said.

Non-traditional security issues, such as cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief would also be discussed, while economic issues such as supply chains and decarbonisation were also likely to be on the agenda, he said.

However, the analysts were united in warning that the summit was unlikely to be good news for China.

Both Manila and Tokyo have territorial disputes with Beijing, in the South China Sea and East China Sea, respectively. Meanwhile, the US is China’s biggest geopolitical rival and increasingly critical of its growing military might in the disputed areas.

IDSC’s Cabalza said that the coming together of three of China’s most vocal critics would definitely “make more noise in the international community”, prompting censure of Beijing.

Ding was of the same view, and said the three were likely to coordinate moves to exert pressure on China over the disputed waterways and in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, like most countries, does not recognise the self-ruled island as independent but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force.

Duterte-Xi allegedly made ‘gentleman’s agreement’ for status quo in disputed sea

Manila has expressed worries in the past about a possible cross-strait conflict, with Marcos saying last year that “it is very hard to imagine a scenario where the Philippines will not somehow get involved” in such a conflict due to its proximity to Taiwan.

The Philippines’ strategic location makes it valuable to both the US and Japan as they seek to improve their responsiveness to any regional crisis, making Manila an important part of any coordinated move to deter Beijing.

But the emerging bloc was likely to further escalate tensions in the region, the observers warned.

Ding said such a network of smaller regional security and defence partnerships – purposefully aimed at China – would further strain regional ties, potentially increasing the risk of maritime frictions.

While the alliance would not deter China from defending its sovereign rights, it does have other concerns, Ding noted.

“Beijing is more concerned about the return of cold war-like bloc confrontation, like such alliances, which would exacerbate geopolitical divisions and antagonisms in the Indo-Pacific, where the consequences have to be borne by the region,” he said.

Koga said another driving force behind the summit was the imminent transition of power in the US and Japan.

Japanese lawmaker says US Steel deal would help counter China dominance

The US presidential election in November will see a rematch between Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump, while Kishida’s leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is set to be put to the test in a vote in September amid an internal fundraising scandal.

“By institutionalising these trilateral frameworks, they aim to consolidate the relationship, so that it will not be affected by the leadership change,” Koga said.

Tesla raises price of its Shanghai-made Model Y electric car, shrugging off price war squeezing its rivals in China

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3257419/tesla-raises-price-its-shanghai-made-model-y-electric-car-shrugging-price-war-squeezing-its-rivals?utm_source=rss_feed

Tesla raised the price of its Shanghai-made Model Y cars on Monday, bucking the trend set by a discount war that is squeezing the profit margins of most of its rivals in China, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market.

The basic Model Y is now priced at 263,900 yuan (US$36,519), up 1.9 per cent from 258,900 yuan, according to the Texas-based carmaker’s local website.

The Long Range version went up in price by 5,000 yuan, or 1.7 per cent, to 304,900 yuan, while the Performance edition saw an increase of 5,000 yuan, or 1.4 per cent, to 368,900 yuan.

Tesla kept the prices of its Model 3 vehicles assembled at the Gigafactory in Shanghai unchanged.

“The small price increases will have only a limited impact on Tesla’s sales since many Chinese consumers still believe in its technology and quality,” said Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai.

“But the price adjustment represents a clear message to the Chinese EV market that the US carmaker is not worried about the bruising price war.”

Tesla would not comment on the price hikes on Monday. In January, 2023, Grace Tao, the carmaker’s head of communications and government affairs in China, said on the microblogging site Weibo that the company adjusts the prices of its locally built vehicles regularly based on production costs.

Tesla sold 456,394 Model Y sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) in mainland China last year, up 44.8 per cent from 2022. It outsold any other SUV, including petrol-powered rivals, in the world’s biggest automotive market.

In the first two months of this year, deliveries of the Model Y on the mainland climbed by about a third to 54,449 units, a slower pace than the 37.5 per cent year-on-year jump for the overall Chinese EV market during the same period.

Cui Dongshu, general ­secretary of the China Passenger Car Association, said in February that most carmakers were likely to continue offering discounts to retain market share, a trend which could reshape the domestic market.

Since February, BYD, the world’s largest EV manufacturer, has slashed the prices of nearly all of its cars by 5 to 20 per cent, as competition escalates in the overcrowded Chinese electric car market.

Many of BYD’s rivals, ­including Xpeng, Zeekr and SAIC-GM-Wuling, General Motors’ three-way venture in China, have fol­­­­­lowed suit and reduced the prices of their bestselling models to compete in the cutthroat market.

Fitch Ratings warned last November that EV sales growth in China could slow to 20 per cent this year, from 37 per cent in 2023, because of ­economic uncertainties and intensifying competition.

BYD is targeting a 20 per cent increase in sales this year, just a third of last year’s growth, as overcapacity concerns and the price war loom over the sector in the mainland.

On Wednesday, Wang Chuanfu, the Shenzhen-based carmaker’s chairman and president, told an investors’ conference that ­deliveries in 2024 could top 3.6 million units, up from last year’s 3.02 million, according to minutes of the meeting seen by the Post.

Japanese lawmaker says US Steel deal would help counter China dominance

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3257411/japanese-lawmaker-says-us-steel-deal-would-help-counter-china-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed

Nippon Steel Corp’s acquisition of United States Steel Corp would strengthen economic security ties between the US and Japan and help counter China’s dominance in steelmaking, according to a senior Japanese ruling party lawmaker.

The US$14.1 billion deal would clearly be a win-win for both companies and both economies, said Akira Amari, a former economics minister known for his industrial policy expertise. He was speaking two weeks after US President Joe Biden came out against the merger.

“This deal would be a symbol of Japan-US cooperation as allies because we would be able to confront China’s rising technological capability,” Amari said in an interview in Tokyo on Friday. “This would be better for our economic security.”

Nippon Steel has vowed to press ahead with plans for the acquisition, even as it gets caught in the political crossfire of the US presidential election.

The problem complicates the run-up to a planned April 10 summit between Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington meant to demonstrate the strength of the alliance.

The influential United Steelworkers union, members of Congress from both parties as well as former president Donald Trump have all spoken against the merger.

Emissions reduction of 10% in reach for China steel sector next year

Nippon Steel would provide technology, investment and job security to the beleaguered US company, Amari said.

That should enable it to expand market share in high-end products like advanced steel sheets for automobiles and press ahead with lower carbon technology like electric furnaces.

Without the merger, the US and Japan could lose out to China, which tries to dominate the global market by dumping, driving out competitors with excessive volume and low prices, Amari added.

Biden said in March the iconic US company should stay under American ownership, in an apparent bid to woo voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Trump has rejected the deal outright.

“It’s important to look calmly at what’s beneficial for the two companies, the US, its economy and its national security,” Amari said, blaming the rhetoric from the US on the election.

Amari said Nippon Steel hadn’t contacted him on the matter and he emphasised his stance isn’t that of the Kishida administration, which has avoided substantive comment on the deal.

“Japan won’t make this a political issue and the Japanese government won’t comment on it,” Amari said. “Japan has no intention of interfering with the US presidential election, even indirectly.”

In March, Biden stopped short of explicitly pledging to block the deal, which is under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS.

Amari said the best outcome would be to let Nippon Steel and the union resolve any misunderstandings and allow the two companies to agree on terms themselves.

EU to blunt China’s edge on steel exports with world’s first carbon tax

The deal would fit into wider bilateral efforts to overhaul the supply chain of products key to economic security at a time when nations “weaponise them as tools for economic coercion,” Amari said.

He has spearheaded Japan’s efforts to revitalise semiconductor manufacturing at home, with Tokyo pouring huge subsidies into American chip makers’ facilities in Japan.

Micron Technology Inc’s Hiroshima factory is among the beneficiaries, while Rapidus Corp is trying to mass produce advanced logic chips in Hokkaido with help from IBM Corp.

“As someone in charge of the Liberal Democratic Party’s industrial policy and economic security policy I feel chips and steel form the templates of how we want to team up with the US,” Amari said.

China’s factory activity expands at fastest pace in 13 months in March

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3257405/chinas-factory-activity-expands-fastest-pace-13-months-march?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in 13 months in March, with business confidence hitting an 11-month high, driven by growing new orders from customers at home and abroad, a private survey showed on Monday.

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 51.1 in March from 50.9 the previous month, above analysts’ forecasts of 51 and marking an expansion for the fifth consecutive month. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction.

The upbeat result followed recent better-than-expected export and retail sales data, suggesting a bright start to the year for the world’s second-biggest economy.

Citi last week raised its forecast for China’s 2024 growth to 5 per cent from 4.6 per cent, citing “recent positive data and policy delivery”.

Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious 2024 economic growth target of around 5 per cent at the annual meeting of China’s parliament in March.

But analysts said policymakers would need to roll out more stimulus to hit that target as they will not be able to count on the weak statistical base of 2022 which flattered 2023 growth data. Moreover, a deep slump in the property sector remains a major drag on activity.

Expansion in manufacturers’ output and new orders accelerated last month, the PMI survey showed. External demand also picked up, pushing the gauge for new export orders to its highest level since February 2023.

Businesses’ confidence towards the year ahead rose to its highest point since April 2023 on good news such as a reduction in input costs.

“A drop in raw material prices reduced production costs for manufacturers, providing leeway for them to lower prices amid fierce market competition,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

However, companies were cautious about adding employees, and the relevant subindex has remained negative since August.

“The economy still faces headwinds with prevalent uncertainties and unfavourable factors,” added Wang.

“Downward economic pressures persist, employment remains subdued, prices remain low, and insufficient effective demand has not been fundamentally resolved, underscoring the need to further boost domestic and external demand.”

How China can best counter the US-Japan-South Korea alliance

https://www.scmp.com/comment/asia-opinion/article/3256981/how-china-can-best-counter-us-japan-south-korea-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed

If Beijing wants to effectively counter the US alliance with Japan and South Korea, and secure China’s status as a pre-eminent power on a par with the United States, it must first understand the four main factors that enabled the US to forge the trilateral alliance.

First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has catalysed geopolitical polarisation, dividing the world and invoking acute military competition. China’s announcement of its “no limits” friendship with Russia just before the start of the conflict, and the Sino-Russian military exercises and strengthened security cooperation since then, serve as a catalyst for the US to develop its trilateral alliance in Asia.

Second, as a result of the geopolitical polarisation, the US has taken the initiative to promote a rules-based international order among liberal democracies, with the aim of containing China.

Third, North Korea’s renewed threat of armed provocation has triggered greater security collaboration between the US, South Korea and Japan. Faced with a common and terrible military threat, Japan and South Korea are setting aside their historical antagonism and reaching for strategic cooperation.

Fourth, Beijing’s assertive policy towards Taiwan and in the rest of the East China Sea has heightened tensions and altered the threat perceptions of South Korea and Japan.

Should China wish to achieve its strategic objectives and become a globally respected world power, these issues must be resolved.

First, Beijing can play an active role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict by becoming an impartial mediator, bringing the two parties together and convincing them to implement a durable ceasefire and to negotiate for peace.

Such a bold move would enhance China’s image and help turn it into a respected power in the international community. Letting the war drag on would only aggravate global polarisation and continue to affect China’s economic and security interests.

Second, to counter the rules-based order advocated by US President Joe Biden, China must establish credible foreign policies based on the guiding principles introduced in the Global Civilisation Initiative last year: peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom.

President Xi Jinping’s speech in San Francisco last year underscored the significance of the guiding principles in China’s foreign policy – namely, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. These core values should be the basis of a coherent foreign policy to help Xi jointly build a world with “lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity”.

In fact, if Chinese foreign policy is to be credible, the principles enunciated in the Global Civilisation Initiative and Xi’s San Francisco speech need to be embodied in China’s domestic policy. As former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev once noted, foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy, which is, in turn, an embodiment of ideology.

Third, Kim Jong-un radically altered North Korea’s policy towards South Korea last year, reclassifying it as North Korea’s main enemy and threatening to use nuclear weapons to subjugate and integrate the South. The more Kim threatens a nuclear attack, the more the trilateral alliance will be strengthened.

China is the only country with sufficient economic and political leverage over North Korea to push it towards denuclearisation and establish permanent peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. To consummate the deal, Beijing must establish a strategic partnership with Seoul to jointly make Pyongyang an offer it cannot refuse, providing it with a distinctly better chance of survival without its nuclear weapons.

How a China-brokered peace deal on the Korean peninsula would benefit all

Such a deal must include security guarantees, the lifting of sanctions, a peace treaty between the two Koreas, and sufficient funds for North Korea’s economic modernisation.

In return, Kim’s regime must revise its Juche ideology of self-reliance, undertake market-oriented reforms, and achieve sustained and dynamic economic development, thus contributing to peace and economic prosperity on the peninsula. This would lead to the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea as there would no longer be a justification for their presence.

Fourth, reunification with Taiwan will require a conducive political and economic environment. Beijing must seek economic integration, followed by peaceful political integration, thus winning the hearts of the Taiwanese people.

If Beijing attempts reintegration by using military force, North Korea is likely to follow suit, which would not only lead to acute instability but also contradict the core principles of Chinese foreign policy enunciated in the Global Civilisation Initiative.

The 21st century will belong to China if Xi can grasp the opportunity. China has lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty in just four decades. Between 2008 and 2022, its per capita gross domestic product rose by 267 per cent, helping to push up the global per capita income.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was announced in 2013, China has invested over US$1 trillion in infrastructure in more than 140 countries. Such success lends credibility to China’s economic model as a foundation for other developing countries. Unfortunately, this immense economic success has not been translated into strategic leverage.

Should Beijing wish to achieve its strategic objectives, enhance its leverage and counter the US-Japan-South Korea alliance, its foreign policy must firmly adhere to the core values advocated in the Global Civilisation Initiative.

Xi has the chance to leave the finest possible legacy by facilitating the end of the conflict in Ukraine and denuclearising the Korean peninsula, while simultaneously achieving China’s economic and political goals. Such an achievement will surely secure his global status as a venerable statesman.

China’s hypersonic science aces train their sights on high-speed rail safety

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3256186/chinas-hypersonic-science-aces-train-their-sights-high-speed-rail-safety?utm_source=rss_feed

A group of scientists involved in the development of hypersonic weapons in China has created a mechanical sensor that could bolster safety on the country’s high-speed rail network – the longest and fastest in the world.

Existing technology relies on small sensors attached to the wheels of high-speed trains that monitor deformations in the wheels or tracks. This data is crucial to keeping equipment safe and warding off potential derailments.

But the researchers, led by Feng Xue from the solid mechanics institute at Tsinghua University’s School of Aerospace Engineering, said the current system can only catch glimpses of information from isolated points.

They propose using high-sensitivity sensing technology – which is also better suited for extreme conditions – to paint a complete and continuous picture with every turn of a train’s wheel.

Feng and his team developed a giant ring-shaped sensor that is as thin as a piece of paper and adheres perfectly to the inner or outer walls of the train’s wheels, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in January by the journal Scientia Sinica Technologica.

This flexible sensor is capable of not only measuring previously overlooked wheel deformations but can also help engineers pinpoint minute flaws in the tracks with unprecedented precision, nipping risks in the bud, the researchers said.

The team said the sensor also addresses a long-standing issue for the high-speed rail industry, which is the potential for single-point sensors to “twist” the data when the trains navigate curved tracks.

China operates the most complex high-speed railway network in the world and has a safety record that surpasses the commercial airline industry, with no passenger fatalities caused by accidents in the past decade.

Next year, a new generation of high-speed trains will be rolled out across the country’s sprawling network – longer than the equator – with maximum speeds increasing from the current 350km/hr (217mph) to 400km/hr (249mph).

“Confronting such a sprawling high-speed rail network, ensuring train safety and trimming maintenance costs are the linchpins in the realm of railway transport,” Feng and his colleagues wrote.

“When paired with wireless sensing technology, our flexible wheel-rail force sensors can keep a real-time, continuous pulse on high-speed train wheel-rail forces. This is a game-changer for the next generation of high-speed rail in China.”

Feng also leads a project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China involving sensors for near-space hypersonic vehicles that can rip through the sky more than seven times faster than the speed of sound at high altitude.

The extreme temperatures and pressure during hypersonic flight can deform the craft, a phenomenon that Feng’s team is focused on preventing, zeroing in on the failure mechanisms of solid materials and structures in these unconventional environments.

The hypersonic team’s studies require some gruelling tests, pushing the researchers to craft sensors that are flexible, expandable, and able to perform in the harshest environments.

While China has invested significant resources in the development of hypersonic vehicles, these cutting-edge technologies have remained largely confined to military applications.

However, an increasing number of scientists and engineers involved in China’s hypersonic research believe that these advances will gradually trickle down into civilian applications and take the Chinese manufacturing industry to new heights.

They also anticipate that civilian applications of the technologies will, in turn, fuel further weaponry research and production.

The enormous scale and complexity of the high-speed rail super infrastructure in China have already turned it into a testing ground for new technologies.

For instance, Chinese quantum physicists are developing highly secure quantum communication networks for the network. Artificial intelligence has also been applied to optimise operational efficiency and detect foreign objects on tracks.

Chinese scientists hope to smooth the path of new 400km/h bullet trains

The latest generation of 5G technology is also giving high-speed train drivers superhero-like vision, allowing them to receive real-time images beyond their line of sight.

Meanwhile, hypersonic wind tunnels are aiding in the development of futuristic low-vacuum tube magnetic levitation high-speed trains that could reach speeds of 1,000km/hr (621mph) or beyond.

When designing large-area sensors suitable for high-speed train wheels, Feng’s team encountered several obstacles, especially the need to balance low-cost, large-scale manufacturing capability with superior performance.

According to the paper, the researchers repurposed commonly available silicon wafers – the backbone of chip manufacturing – as the foundation for the sensors. These were coated with a thin veneer of gold.

While gold is pricey, the team kept the expense manageable, using it at a minute thickness for each wafer – barely a fraction of a hair’s breadth, which was etched with intricate sensor patterns, using standard photolithography equipment.

These microscopic structures, known as strain gratings, are comprised of multiple layers of compounds and metals which exhibit changes in their electrical resistance when subjected to variations in pressure.

When an electrical current passes through these layers, their response generates signals that indicate any deformations in the wheel’s action, according to the paper.

“Our vertical loading experiments reveal that the flexible ring sensor exhibits not only strong linearity but also remarkable stability and repeatability under cyclic loading conditions,” the researchers wrote.

Feng and his team said that in real-world applications, the sensor could be combined with low-noise wireless telemetry technology to send wheel-rail force signals to a data analysis terminal.