The China Agenda this week

This is the week coming up in U.S.-China relations, global diplomacy, and everything that matters if you follow China and its political and economic place in the world.

Upcoming diplomatic visits and overseas trips

The prime minister of the Solomon Islands is visiting China on July 9–15.

NATO will meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11–12.

• The war in Ukraine and Ukraine’s potential membership will dominate discussions.
• China will also be a factor, not least given Vilnius’s increasingly pro-Taiwan stance in recent years.

India will host the third meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on July 14–18 in Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

• This is the highest profile of four G20 meetings hosted in the state this month.

The 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting takes place in Jakarta on July 11–14.

Russian naval ships have been based in Shanghai since Wednesday, and will remain there until July 11.

• They are conducting joint exercises with the PLA. The Global Times says that this has “nothing to do with any ongoing geopolitical crisis.”

Speeches, policy announcements, other political events

In China, the National People’s Congress is soliciting public comment on four pieces of legislation, including the Patriotic Education Law and the Administrative Reconsideration Law.

In Washington, D.C., several sessions are being held in Congress this week, which have a bearing on the U.S.-China relationship:

• On Thursday, July 13, John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, will be questioned as a witness at a subcommittee hearing under the Committee on Foreign Affairs. This comes just before his trip to China, where he plans to meet his counterpart, Xiè Zhènhuá 解振华.
• Also on Thursday, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party will hold a meeting titled “Risky Business: Growing Peril for American Companies in China.”
• Also on Thursday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on “Continuing U.S. Leadership in Commercial Space at Home and Abroad.”
• Also on Thursday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing on “Exposing the Dangers of the Influence of Foreign Adversaries on College Campuses.”
• On Tuesday, July 11, the Select Subcommittee on the origins of the coronavirus will hold a hearing on “Investigating the proximal origins of a coverup.”
• Also on Tuesday, the Committee of Homeland Security will hold a hearing on “Protecting the U.S. Homeland: Fighting the Flow of Fentanyl from the Southwest Border.”

Earnings reports, IPOs, other market events

Listings:

• Printed circuit board, semiconductor packaging, and touchscreen company SkyChem Technology/SkyChem Chemical lists on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), as well as on the Shanghai board today, July 10.
• Wise Living Technology, a heating company, lists on the HKEX main board today.
• Sichuan Kelun Botai Biopharmaceutical Co. lists on the HKEX main board on Tuesday, July 11.
• Keep Inc., a popular fitness app, lists on the HKEX main board on Wednesday, July 12.
• SP Legend, a retail company, lists on the HKEX main board on Thursday, July 13.

Earning reports:

• Senmiao Technology, a Nasdaq-listed, Chengdu-based investment holding company, is expected to report its quarterly earnings on Friday, July 14.

Court rulings, civic society, academic, miscellaneous

Academic and think-tank events this week include:

USCBC: Chinese Law and US-China Relations: A Conversation with Professor Jerome Cohen, July 10, 20:30 (ET).

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: What Today’s Crises Will Mean Tomorrow: A Conversation With Adam Tooze, July 11, 11:45 (ET).

USCBC: The Effects of Geopolitics and Data Regulations on MNCs’ China Outlook, July 12, 08:30 (ET).

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: The NATO Vilnius Summit: A Conversation with Ukrainian Ambassador Markarova and French Ambassador Bili, July 12, 10:30 (ET).

CSIS: Competing for the Future of Cloud Computing, July 12, 13:30 (ET).

Asia Society: ChinaFile Presents: The Future of Dissent Inside and Outside of China, July 12, 18:30 (ET).

Brookings: Tracking development finance in Southeast Asia: A new tool from the Lowy Institute, July 13, 10:00 (ET).

The week in history

July 9, 1971: Henry Kissinger flew to Beijing for 48 hours of secret talks, in preparation for U.S. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit the following year.

July 11, 1405: Ming-dynasty explorer Zhèng Hé 鄭和 embarked on his first ocean voyage.

July 13, 2001: Beijing won its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

July 14, 1976: The TAZARA Railway was officially opened, linking Tanzania and Zambia, and built with Chinese assistance. It was the largest single foreign-aid project run by China at the time.

July 14, 2015: The Iran nuclear deal framework was announced in Vienna, by representatives from Iran, the UN Security Council (which includes China), and the EU.