Links for Wednesday, July 20, 2022

North Korea seeks to reopen trade corridor with China
Shortage-hit North Korea urges China to restart freight rail lifeline / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Hong Kong’s largest annual book fair brings new business
Hong Kong publishers adopt cautious attitude ahead of Asia’s largest annual book fair / SCMP (paywall)
“Small and medium-sized publishers in Hong Kong have said they are exercising more caution when selecting titles for Asia’s largest annual book fair in the city this year as some sellers struggle to keep their businesses afloat.”
Hong Kong Book Fair 2022: hundreds queue early to be among first at Asia’s largest event of its kind / SCMP (paywall)

EU official affirms Taiwan’s importance, calls for China-Taiwan dialogue
European Parliament VP urges renewed China-Taiwan dialogue / AP
“European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer met with Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文 Cài Yīngwén] on Wednesday and called for China to open a ‘mutual and respectful dialogue’ with the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.”

Premier Li on economic recovery
China’s premier signals flexibility on economic growth target / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Macroeconomic policies will be targeted, strong and at the same time reasonable and appropriate,” according to Chinese Premier Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强. “China will be practical and realistic, do its best, and aim to achieve a relatively good level of full-year economic growth.”
China doubles down on infrastructure to spur growth / Caixin (paywall)

Chinese people are choosing hospitals over grassroots medical facilities
China’s community health centers are losing public appeal / Sixth Tone
“While the number of hospital visits is increasing in China, the country’s grassroots medical facilities are seeing relatively fewer patients in comparison despite the government’s efforts to promote such services.”

China wants foreign firms to join its domestic stock exchanges
China courts foreign firms for cross-border listing drive / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese authorities are courting European companies to raise funds on the country’s stock exchanges, as they seek to kickstart a program to attract foreign listings, people with knowledge of the matter said.”

Taiwan’s ex-defense chief urges military reform
Taiwan’s ex-defense chief calls for sweeping military reforms / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Taiwan’s former defense chief said the island’s military needs urgent, sweeping reforms in the face of what he calls the ‘existential threat’ posed by an increasingly aggressive China.”

Giant flowers blossom in National Botanical Garden
World first: Three giant ‘corpse’ flowers bloom in Chinese botanical garden / SCMP (paywall)
“Three titan arums, or ‘corpse’ plants, that blossomed in the China National Botanical Garden in Beijing this month gave humans the first opportunity to observe the simultaneous blooming of these giant flowers in an artificial environment, according to a report by Science and Technology Daily published on Wednesday.”

Greenpeace worried China’s new coal approvals will offset carbon-neutral goals
China’s approvals for new coal plants rebound amid renewed focus on energy security after last year’s power crisis: Greenpeace / SCMP (paywall)
“Provincial governments across China approved plans to add a total of 8.63 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power plants in the first quarter of 2022 alone, nearly 50 percent of the capacity approved in the whole of 2021, according to a new report from Greenpeace East Asia on Wednesday.”
China’s coal plant approvals up despite climate goals: Greenpeace / Al Jazeera
China speeding up approvals for new coal plants, Greenpeace says / AFP via HKFP

China’s Belt and Road is built on forced labor, according to U.S. report
‘Hidden cost’ of China’s Belt and Road is forced labor: U.S. report / Kyodo via NIkkei Asia (paywall)
“The U.S. State Department highlighted the use of forced labor in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in its annual human trafficking report released Tuesday, while maintaining its assessment that Japan’s efforts to eliminate trafficking are not yet sufficient.”
U.S. hits out at Russia, China in annual human trafficking report / Al Jazeera