Beijing refines COVID zero

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

Speculation on COVID zero is rife: While Party newspaper the People’s Daily today reiterated that China must “unswervingly implement” the nation’s controversial pandemic policy, all eyes are fixed on the northern city of Shijiazhuang, which some see as a test case for looser COVID rules.

• Markets soared in recent days after Beijing announced 20 measures that eased some restrictions, but many analysts seem to think that the new changes are more of a fine-tuning of the COVID-zero policy, which remains firmly in place.
• Meanwhile, down south in Guangzhou, a crowd of residents clashed with police over strict lockdown restrictions on Monday night after days of growing tension, according to videos posted online.

Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court has sentenced two men to death for killing 13 people (including nine Chinese engineers) in a bus explosion last year, as authorities crack down on a growing number of attacks targeting Chinese nationals and investments in the region.

• Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on November 2, in which both leaders pledged to create a “reliable and safe environment” while fast-tracking major infrastructure projects under the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
• Read more about Chinese activities and local resentments at the Pakistani port of Gwadar in a story we published today.

China will speed up free-trade agreement negotiations with South Korea, Xi Jinping told South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at the G20 Summit, according to state television CCTV per Reuters, in a bid to secure an important source of high-tech products for the world’s second-largest economy.

Shares of TSMC buoyed up over news that Warren Buffett–backed Berkshire Hathaway purchased a $4.1 billion stake in the Taiwanese chipmaking giant, which has been caught in the geopolitical crossfire over semiconductors and other sensitive technologies.

Loan repayment deferral for SMEs: Yesterday, the People’s Bank of China and five related government bodies announced relief measures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are currently in financial difficulties due to COVID. Affected SMEs can delay principal and interest repayments that are due in the fourth quarter to 2023 without incurring any penalties. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Cancer treatments do not bring instant profits.
• Renewables make up nearly half of China’s energy supply.

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