News briefing for Friday, July 29, 2022

Xi warned Biden against meddling in China’s affairs with Taiwan during a highly anticipated phone call between the leaders of the two world powers yesterday, as tensions continue to build over plans for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan. “Those who play with fire will perish by it. It is hoped that the U.S. will be clear-eyed about this,” said the readout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated that Washington’s policy has not changed on Taiwan, and that the United States “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
• Both leaders floated a possible face-to-face meeting, according to U.S. officials per Reuters and Bloomberg, but no further details were given.

“Our position on the existence of only one China remains unchanged,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday as tensions ramped up between the United States and China over Taiwan. “We have no problem with upholding the principle of China’s sovereignty.”

“Repeal the National Security Law” in Hong Kong, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee urged on Wednesday, voicing their deep concerns over the “overly broad” legislation that has “reportedly led to the arrests of over 200 people, including 12 children.”

Afghan citizens can return to China next month, after Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 announced in a meeting yesterday with Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Amir Khan Muttaqi that China will resume issuing visas on August 1. He also said that Beijing will allow 98% of Afghan imports to enter tax free.

Politburo signals shift in growth target: Yesterday, a meeting of the Politburo, the Party’s top decision-making body, expressed a subtle change from striving to achieve “expected results” to achieving the “best possible results,” which indicates that the 5.5% annual GDP target is no longer feasible or expected.

Rise of the digital humans: According to a report released on Wednesday, in 2021, there were 2,843 financing events in China for digital human-related companies, including total financing of 254 billion yuan ($37.62 billion). (Digital humans are “AI-powered human-like virtual beings.” In other words, chatbots and whatever comes next.)

Bona Film Group finally gets its IPO: Five years after submitting its A-share application, Bona Film Group, one of China’s largest production and distribution companies (which listed on Nasdaq in 2010), has received approval to issue 274.9 million A-shares, accounting for 22.5% of the company’s total shares, and plans to use the funds to make eight new films and upgrade its cinemas.

Want more business and technology news from The China Project in your inbox? Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter that goes out at the end of every business day in China (coffee time in New York).