The China Agenda for August 28–September 3 — Raimondo, Cleverly, and Oh to Beijing

The key events this week are diplomatic visits to Beijing from American, British, and South Korean officials.

Upcoming diplomatic visits and international political events

U.S. Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo will meet with senior Chinese officials and American business leaders between August 27 and August 30.

• She will hold meetings with senior P.R.C. officials and U.S. business leaders.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will overlap with Raimondo, arriving in Beijing on August 29, according to media reports.

• His trip has been rescheduled, as he was originally intended to meet with the now-disappeared Qín Gāng 秦刚.
• This visit also comes as Cleverly’s department has reportedly told its staff not to refer to China as a “hostile state” for fear of upsetting Beijing.

South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Oh Young-ju will visit China August 28–30.

• She will hold the 27th meeting of the joint economic committee with her Chinese counterpart. The Korean foreign ministry said they would discuss ways to ensure stable supply chains and boost economic cooperation.
• The visit follows a recent decision to lift a ban on group tours to South Korea, which the Chinese government imposed six years ago.

Taiwan is opening up to P.R.C. nationals starting on Monday, according to the Mainland Affairs Council: Business people from China will be allowed to apply for short-term visits, and from September 1 Chinese citizens who live in third countries will be able to visit as tourists.

Indonesia is co-hosting joint military exercises with the United States. The Exercise Super Garuda Shield will be held around East Java from August 31 to September 13.

• Last year’s edition was the biggest to date, and included additional troops from Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, and the U.K., while France, Germany, and India sent observers.

The Bled Strategic Forum is being held in Slovenia on Monday and Tuesday. The forum, organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Centre for European Perspective, welcomes a number of high-level speakers, and will include sessions on solidarity for global security, the prospects for multilateralism, and globalization. Henry Wang (王辉耀 Wáng Huīyào), founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a government-aligned think tank, will attend and give a speech.

The United Nations is holding several meetings this week:

• The second regular session of the executive board of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS will be held in New York August 28–September 1.
• The 97th session of the Human Rights Council, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, will be held in Geneva August 28–September 1.
• A fourth session of an open-ended working group on reducing space threats through norms, rules, and principles of responsible behaviors will be held in Geneva August 28–September 1.

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Domestic political events, speeches, and policy announcements

The 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee will meet August 28 to September 1.

• Five bills are scheduled for further review, including the draft Foreign State Immunity Law, which one analysis states “has important implications for other states, which would now be subject to suit in China on a range of claims from which they were previously immune.”
• Four new bills on a variety of topics, including education.

A new regulation on the supervision and administration of private investment funds will come into effect on September 1.

China’s fifth national economic census will be held from August to October. The extensive survey from the National Bureau of Statistics seeks to ascertain key information about the state of businesses and the economy, from personnel wages to ecommerce transactions to research and development.

Earnings reports, IPOs, and other business and market events

Data releases:

• August 30, 9:30 p.m. ET, China releases its purchasing managers index (PMI) figures for July. This includes both the manufacturing and non-facturing PMI data, as well as the general PMI figures, which is a composite of the two. This data gives an indication of the overall health of these two sectors of the economy: Since December, China’s PMI growth has gotten increasingly slower, with the manufacturing sector contracting every month since April.

IPOs:

• 多浦乐 Duopule Electronics will list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on August 28. The company manufactures pumps for a range of applications, and partners with brands like Tesla, Whirlpool, Kohler, Flextronics, Dr. Gee, Roca, GE, KTM, and so on.

Earnings reports:

• Baozun, a Shanghai-based firm that provides brand ecommerce solutions and services, will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly and semiannual earnings at 7:30 a.m. ET on August 28.
• PDD Holdings, which owns the delivery platform giant Pinduoduo, and overseas-focused startup Temu, will report earnings on August 29. The company’s management will hold an earnings conference call at 7:30 a.m. ET.
• NIO, one of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers, will release its second-quarter earnings on August 29, holding an earnings conference call at 8 a.m. ET.
• JOYY will host an earnings conference call at 9 p.m. ET on August 29. The company, formerly known as YY, runs a video-based social network platform.
• LIZHI, an audio-based social and entertainment platform, will release its second-quarter earnings on August 29, after markets close.
• ZTO Express, a Chinese delivery company, will host an earnings conference call at 8:30 p.m. ET on August 29.
• Vanke will announce its interim results for 2023 on August 30. The Chinese residential real estate developer will hold an earnings call at 9:30 p.m.
• Gaotu Techedu, a Chinese edtech company offering online tutoring services for K-12 students and foreign language and professional training courses for adults, is set to announce its financial results for the second quarter before U.S. markets open on August 30.
• Fanhua, a financial services company, will report its quarterly earnings before U.S. financial markets open on August 30.
• 36Kr, the prominent technology and business media company, will report its second-quarter unaudited financial results on August 31 before markets open.

Events

Academic and think-tank events this week include:

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology, August 21, 10 a.m. ET.

Wilson Center: Taiwan’s International Engagement and the Way Forward, August 28, 3 p.m. ET.

Stanford: KFAS-Stanford Sustainable Democracy Roundtable, August 29-30.

CSIS: Reviewing the Camp David Trilateral Summit, August 29, 9 a.m. ET.

Wilson Center: China’s Methane Mitigation in the Era of Climate Boiling: A Green Tea Chat with Dr. Hu Tao, August 30, 9:15 a.m. ET.

Stimson Center: Taiwan’s Economic Security: How Is Chip Nationalism Affecting Taiwan?, August 29, 10:30 a.m. ET.

Atlantic Council: A view from the right: Republican perspectives on US-Africa policy, August 29, 12 p.m. ET.

Stimson Center: Security Dynamics in Southern Asia – Views from Rising Analysts, August 30, 9:30 a.m. ET.

CSIS: Press Briefing: Previewing the 2023 G20, U.S.-ASEAN, and East Asia Summits, August 30, 10 a.m. ET.

Brookings: How much money for defense is enough?, August 30, 10:30 a.m. ET.

CSIS: China’s Economic Downturn: Structural, Cyclical, or Both?, August 31, 9 a.m. ET.

U.S.-China Business Council: USG Briefing on Outbound Investment Executive Order, August 31, 9 a.m. ET.