Highlighted links for October 25, 2023

Below are links from our NewsBase to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Stimulus and economic recovery
China’s 1 trillion yuan sovereign debt plan offers ‘positive growth implications’, Beijing eager to strengthen down the road / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s fiscal revision, including a 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion) sovereign debt plan, was aimed at ensuring economic stability in the coming months amid a faltering property market and rising local government debt pressure, analysts said.”
China approves $139bn in new bonds to bolster economic recovery / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China has approved issuing 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in new bonds, marking its first budget revision in years as it looks to boost confidence amid tepid signs of an economic recovery.”
China increases bond issuance to help its economy / WSJ (paywall)
Opinion: Martin Wolf: The economic future of China / FT (paywall)
“Many believe the country’s rapid rise in relative gross domestic product and GDP per head is coming to an end — but is it? Martin Wolf argues that the challenges are serious, yet manageable,” but also that “politics poses the biggest threat to economic growth in China.”

Hong Kong
Hong Kong slashes property stamp tax to revive economy / FT (paywall)
“Hong Kong will offer HK$20,000 ($2,556) handouts to parents of newborns and ease stamp duties on some home sales as the city struggles to revive an economy hit by a population exodus and slowing Chinese growth.”

Electric vehicles
Porsche hits out at Brussels probe into Chinese EVs / FT (paywall)
“German carmakers will ‘fight’ any potential tariff war between Brussels and Beijing, according to the chief financial officer of Porsche, one of the handful of European brands that does not manufacture cars in China.”

Intellectual property rights
Chinese artist fined 5 million yuan in ‘landmark case’ for plagiarizing foreign work / Caixin (paywall)
“The plaintiff, Belgian painter Christian Silvain, applauded the verdict, despite the awarded compensation falling far short of the over 60 million yuan [$8.2 million] that he had initially sought, saying that the judgment had made the European market more optimistic about China’s protection of intellectual property rights.”

Working for the government is popular
China jobs: Civil service in high demand amid economic slowdown as record 2.83 million apply for exam / SCMP (paywall)
“A record 2.83 million applicants have applied for China’s national public servants exam, hoping to land positions still widely considered as the so-called iron rice bowl as uncertainty over jobs in the corporate sector has increased amid a slow post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Oil
Xi’s energy policies trickle down to oil major amid cost concerns / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“CNOOC, one of China’s biggest national oil companies, is set to make a record capital expenditure this year as President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls for improvements to the nation’s energy security.”

Semiconductors
U.S. tells Nvidia to halt shipping some AI chips to China immediately / Caixin (paywall)
“The U.S. government has told Nvidia it must stop shipping some of its high-end artificial intelligence chips to China without licenses immediately, a company filing Tuesday shows.”

Country Garden
China developer Country Garden deemed in default on dollar bond for first time / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. was deemed to be in default on a dollar bond for the first time, underscoring its fall into distress amid a broader property debt crisis that’s shaken the world’s second-biggest economy.”

Tsingtao beer
Tsingtao beer loses its fizz in South Korea after video of worker appearing to urinate into tank / Guardian
“China’s Tsingtao beer reportedly experiences a consumer backlash in South Korea after video of a worker appearing to urinate into a beer tank goes viral.”

Huawei
Controversial chip in Huawei phone produced on ASML machine / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. used equipment from ASML Holding NV to manufacture an advanced processor for a Chinese smartphone that alarmed the US, according to people familiar with the matter.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Healthcare industry
‘Capital winter’ chills investment in China’s health care industry / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s cutting-edge drug developers are feeling the pinch from a continued contraction in investment, with some having to make massive layoffs or abandon non-core businesses to survive what has been dubbed a ‘capital winter.’”

Emission control
China’s reduction in emission intensity seen accelerating after ‘big leap in moving to renewables’: world travel guild / SCMP (paywall)
“China has reported the second-largest decline in emission intensity within the global travel and tourism sector between 2010 and 2019, according to a report published by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) in collaboration with the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Tourism.”
China readies relaunch of shelved carbon credits program / Caixin (paywall)
“China is one step away from relaunching its voluntary carbon credits program after updating key rules for the scheme, which it shelved more than six years ago due to a lack of uptake and regulatory issues.”
China set to release long-awaited methane plan before COP28 / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The world’s largest source of methane has promised to lay out how it will reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Removal of senior Chinese officials
Removal of top Chinese officials seen as enforcing Xi’s demand for obedience / AP
“The removal of China’s foreign and defense ministers appears to enforce leader Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 demand for total obedience and the elimination of any potential rivals within the ruling Communist Party, analysts say.”

Military
China chases U.S. and Russia guided-missile submarine capabilities with new vessels / Reuters
“China has launched its first nuclear-powered guided missile submarines, according to the Pentagon’s latest report on China’s military – giving it land and sea attack options once the sole province of U.S. and Russian vessels.”

Forced labor
Forced labor concerns prompt U.S. lawmakers to demand ban on seafood from two Chinese provinces / AP
“A group of U.S. lawmakers wants the Biden administration to ban seafood processed in two Chinese provinces from entering the U.S. market because of concerns about rights abuses. They also say that Chinese facilities using forced labor should be banned from doing business with American companies.”

Uyghur filmmaker arrested
Trial of Uyghur film-maker to begin in China this week / Guardian
Ikram Nurmehmet, a director known for featuring Uyghur protagonists, “who was arrested in Beijing earlier this year will appear on trial in Xinjiang today.”

Taiwan
Beijing urges Taiwan companies to help smooth cross-Strait relations / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Taiwanese companies should assume their social responsibilities and play a ‘positive role’ in promoting the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, China’s government said on Wednesday, amid a probe into major Apple supplier Foxconn.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China’s defense ministry blasts Pentagon’s annual report / Reuters
“China’s defense ministry on Wednesday denounced the U.S. Defense Department’s annual report on China, saying it distorts the country’s security policy and military strategy.”
China said the U.S. is a disruptor of peace in response to Pentagon report on China’s military buildup / AP
Opinion: Biden’s unsung shift on China / FT (paywall)
Edward Luce argues: “The upside to dialogue between Washington and Beijing should never be overlooked.”
Xi says China willing to cooperate with U.S. as hopes rise for talks with Biden / Guardian
“The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has said China is willing to cooperate with the U.S. as both sides manage their differences and work together to respond to global challenges, raising hopes of a meeting between Xi and the U.S. president, Joe Biden, this year.”

California governor in China
California governor Newsom meets China’s President Xi / Reuters
“California governor Gavin Newsom met Chinese president Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 on Wednesday to discuss climate change, raising hopes that China and the United States can find common ground ahead of an APEC summit and COP28 climate meeting next month.”
California Gov. Newsom has surprise meeting with China’s leader Xi amid warm welcome in Beijing / AP
China’s Xi Jinping to meet California Governor Gavin Newsom in sign talks with Joe Biden will follow on Apec sidelines / SCMP (paywall)
China’s Xi welcomes Gavin Newsom in Beijing with eye on U.S. visit / WSJ (paywall)
“California Democrat, seeking cooperation on climate change, is first U.S. governor to meet Chinese leader since 2017.”

Israel-Hamas war
China watches how Israel-Hamas war affects U.S. ‘posture’ in Indo-Pacific / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China is marking time as the Israel-Hamas war tests countries’ diplomacy in the Middle East, eyeing any opportunity to use the conflict to its diplomatic advantage, according to a former Pentagon official.”
Blinken says he will work with China’s Wang Yi to calm Middle East / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that he will work with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading when they meet later this week.”

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is allowing a Chinese research ship to dock as neighboring India’s security concerns grow / AP
“A Chinese research ship will be allowed to dock at a Sri Lankan port this week, likely adding to neighboring India’s concerns about China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean.”

Australia
China-Australia thaw reveals limits of Beijing’s economic coercion / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Beijing on November 4, a trip that in any ordinary year would attract little notice outside of the two countries.”

Columbia
China upgrades diplomatic ties with close US ally Colombia / Reuters
“China elevated diplomatic relations with Colombia to a strategic partnership on Wednesday, deepening a push with one of the oldest U.S. allies to expand its influence and strengthen its foothold in Latin America.”

Russia
China-Russia challenge to the global order cannot be allowed / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently met in Beijing for their second summit of the year, showcasing their lockstep unity as a faction opposed to the U.S.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

NBA
NBA ‘first class’ in China despite past turbulence, says Yao / Reuters
“The National Basketball Association (NBA) and China may have encountered turbulence in their relations over the years but retired great Yao Ming told Reuters the league is still ‘first class’ in his home country.”
NBA ‘very well welcome in China’, Yao Ming says – and basketball legend gives Peng Shuai update / SCMP (paywall)

Cyber safety for minors
China’s new cyber safety rules to protect minors put burden on internet and tech firms, authorities and schools / SCMP (paywall)
“China has introduced regulations to step up the protection of minors in cyberspace, in an attempt to fend off risks ranging from internet violence to addiction.”

Swimming
China’s Qin named male swimmer of the year / Caixin (paywall)
“Breaststroke champion Qín Hǎiyáng 覃海洋 and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown were honored as the best swimmers of the year in a ceremony staged at the future headquarters of global water sports governing body World Aquatics in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday.”

Culture preservation
Rediscovering tradition in Pu’er country / Sixth Tone
“Jingmai Mountain’s successful UNESCO World Heritage application offers a counterpoint to those who argue that development must come at the expense of the natural environment.”

Dog safety
China local governments launch crackdown on dogs after child was mauled / Guardian
“Local governments across China have launched a crackdown on dogs after a toddler was mauled by a rottweiler earlier this month.”