The China Agenda for October 9–15 — U.S. senators in China and Taiwan’s National Day

The key events this week are the Chuck Schumer-led U.S. senator delegation to China, and various diplomatic visits to Taiwan around its “Double Ten” National Day.

Political events in China

The Party Central Committee is expected to hold a quinquennial plenary session to map out economic reforms for the years ahead this month.

• The Third Plenum, which could be held this month or in November, could herald some significant changes: Earlier this year, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 called for updating Party theory, and senior policy advisers have been discussing theoretical innovations to support the private sector.

Upcoming diplomatic visits and international political events

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) landed in Shanghai on Saturday with a delegation of five other senators. They will depart on Monday.

• On the first day, the delegation met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chén Jíníng 陈吉宁.
• The group hopes to meet Xi Jinping.
• Along with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), who is co-leading the visit, other senators include Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
• The delegation will continue on to Japan and South Korea.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell is expected to visit China sometime this week.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will meet Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (李家超 Lǐ Jiāchāo) as part of a three-day visit to the city starting on Sunday.

China and Saudi Arabia will hold “Blue Sword-2023,” joint naval drills started on October 7, and are set to continue for three weeks.

• This is the first time such exercises have taken place in China.

The IMF and World Bank are holding their annual meetings on October 9–15. The meetings will be held in Marrakesh, the first time in 50 years these meetings have been held in Africa.

Taiwan is celebrating its “Double Ten” National Day on October 10.

Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will travel to Taiwan on October 11–12 to attend the seventh edition of the Yushan Forum organized by the Taiwanese foreign ministry and the NGO Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF).

• He will also be received by President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 (Cài Yīngwén).

Forty-three members of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council are also in Taiwan until October 10.

• The delegation will meet with President Tsai, Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun (游錫堃 Yóu Xīkūn), and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chair Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全 Sū Jiāquán).

The Republic of Nauru’s President Russ Joseph Kun and First Lady will lead a delegation to Taiwan on October 8–12.

Several United Nations events are happening this week:

• On October 2–3, in Vienna: The 13th session of the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
• On October 10, the UN General Assembly will elect new members of the Human Rights Council. Russia is a candidate.
• On October 9–13, the Human Rights Council will hold the 38th session of its working group on discrimination against women and girls.
• Also on October 9–13, the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), will hold a working group on investor-state dispute settlement reform).
• The Internet Governance Forum will be held in Kyoto, October 8–12. The schedule of meetings can be found here.

The High Level Meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum, which will take place on October 10–11 in Bali, will call for archipelagic and island countries to strengthen solidarity in overcoming common problems in the maritime sector.

The third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit will take place in Beijing sometime in October, likely toward the end of the month. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative’s launch.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 are expected to meet on the sidelines of the event. Putin’s spokesperson confirmed that dates had been agreed upon.
• French President Emmanuel Macron will send former prime minister and longtime China friend Jean-Pierre Raffarin to attend the forum.

China-related political events in the U.S. and around the world

An initial hearing for the case to ban TikTok in Montana will take place on October 12.

• Alario v. Knudsen pits TikTok alongside content creators against the state’s attorney general.

Earnings reports, IPOs, and other business and market events

Data releases:

• On October 11, China will release its monthly data on vehicle sales.
• On October 11, China will release its monthly loan data, including total social financing, which measures the volume of financing provided by the financial system to the real economy.
• On October 11, China will release its monthly data on the M2 money supply.
• On October 12, China will release its monthly data on the rate of inflation, as well as its Producer Price Index (PPI).
• On October 12, China will release its monthly balance of trade statistics, including exports and imports.
• On October 15, the PBoC will publish its one-year Medium-Term Lending Facility Rate (MLF), which is the main rate at which the central bank lends to big commercial banks.

IPOs

• On October 11, Maiyue 邁越科技 will list on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Maiyue is a cybersecurity services company.
• On October 12, Luyuan Group 綠源集團 will list on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Luyuan manufactures electric scooters.
• GstarCAD 苏州浩辰软件, a design software company, will list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on October 10.

Other events

Academic and think-tank events this week include:

UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy: Lessons for the Global Contest Between Autocracy and Democracy, October 9, 8 p.m. ET.

Stimson Center: Cooperative Threat and Risk Reduction in a New Global Context, October 10, 9 a.m. ET.

CSIS: Implementing Competitive Endurance: Space Intelligence, October 10, 3 p.m. ET.

CSIS: Chinese Assessments of De-risking, October 11, 10 a.m. ET.

Wilson Center: The Arms of the Future | Book Launch with Dr. Jack Watling, October 11, 10:30 a.m. ET.

Stanford APARC: China’s BRI and Southeast Asia: Separating Fact from Fiction, October 11, 11 a.m. ET.

NCUSR: CHINA Town Hall: Nicholas Burns, October 11, 7 p.m. ET.

Asia Society: China Books Review Launch, October 12, 6:30 p.m. ET.

Asia Society: Brothers Forever: Unpacking China-Russia Relations, October 13, 8:30 a.m. ET.

Brookings: Competing visions? American, Chinese, and European perspectives on the future of the international system, October 13, 10 a.m. ET.

CSIS: A Conversation with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, October 13, 2 p.m. ET.