iPhones may be locked down, but Xi says is China committed to “opening up”

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

iPhone production is down because of COVID-zero curbs in Zhengzhou, Apple announced yesterday, with its mega Foxconn factory in the Chinese city operating at reduced capacity ahead of the holiday season.

• “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated,” the company said. “Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”
• Meanwhile, Foxconn has again offered bonuses of 500 yuan ($69.28) to workers willing to return to the plant, after videos posted online showed employees fleeing the factory over COVID-zero fears.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 said that China remains committed to “opening up to the outside world” at the fifth annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Friday, while also vowing that there would be greater market access amid a sharp drop in the nation’s exports and ongoing tensions with major developed economies.

• Xi’s pledge was reiterated by China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in an announcement today that further encouraged the development of private investment.

Britain wants to “future-proof” its economy by boosting ties with Taiwan, or at least that’s what U.K. Trade Minister, Greg Hands, said today during the 25th annual trade talks with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文 Cài Yīngwén) in Taipei, as newly-appointed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seeks to take a tougher stance on China.

• “We firmly oppose any form of official interaction between the Taiwan region and countries having diplomatic ties with China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚 said when asked at a press conference today.
• Meanwhile, Lithuania has opened a trade office in Taiwan, as the smaller EU nation continues to shift its allegiances to the self-ruled island over China.

China hit back at Canada’s order to three Chinese companies to divest from critical mining and mineral processing operations, including for lithium.

Shanghai chief prosecutor arrested for taking bribes: China’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, announced that Zhāng Běncái 张本才, a former chief prosecutor of the Shanghai Procuratorate, has been arrested and charged with taking bribes.

• Meanwhile, Fàn Yīfēi 范一飞, the deputy governor of China’s central bank, was also placed under investigation on Saturday — the first senior Chinese finance official to be probed since the conclusion of the 20th Party Congress.
• See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:
  • The first decline in China’s dollar-denominated exports since 2020.
  • Almost a million people affected by natural disasters in October.
  • Slow and steady for the marine economy.

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