Canada accuses China of “playing aggressive games,” while seven are arrested over COVID zero clash

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

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused China of “playing aggressive games” in democratic nations, after local media reported that a “clandestine network” of 11 candidates were backed by Beijing in Canada’s federal elections.

• “We have no interest in Canada’s internal affairs,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚 said when asked at a daily press conference. “The Canadian side should stop making remarks that would harm bilateral relations.”

Authorities have arrested seven people in a clash over COVID curbs, the police department in Linyi stated per the Associated Press, as residents chafe under strict and sudden pandemic restrictions all over the nation that have failed to curb a recent rise in cases.

• Growing frustrations among locked-down residents have fanned reports that Beijing may be considering a gradual report to its stretched-thin COVID-zero policy.

BeiDou, China’s rival technology to the U.S.’s GPS, has been fitted in about 98% of new smartphones sold in China during the first half of this year, officials said on Friday, upon release of a new white paper on the homegrown satellite navigation system.

Fortunes are bleeding out in Xi’s China, according to the annual Hurun China Rich List released today, with 160 people (or 11%) losing the ultra-rich status (worth over $710 million) compared with last year.

• Meanwhile, speculation that the economy is taking a back seat to Xi’s push for security has stoked concern over the future of the private sector in China.

Small profit increase for listed companies: Nearly 5,000 companies listed on the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges have disclosed their financial reports for the third quarter. Collectively, they reported revenue of 52.37 trillion yuan ($7.24 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 8.51%, and net profits of 4.75 trillion yuan ($657.48 billion), an increase of 2.46%. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• A government boost for private investment.
• Ten-day rail delivery from China to Europe.

China’s national security bureau bought a mega mansion in Hong Kong worth HK$508 million ($65 million), according to the local Land Registry per local news outlet HK01 and per Bloomberg. The sprawling five-bedroom, five-bathroom estate was bought by the city’s Office for Safeguarding National Security, which was founded in 2020 after Beijing rolled out the National Security Law.

China’s contract to build a controversial railway across Kenya has been partly disclosed: New President William Ruto released documents outlining $3 billion worth of loans to state-run China Exim Bank for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), nearly 10 months after Nairobi declined to publicly release such information in fear of breaching non-disclosure agreements and straining relations with Beijing.

Want more business and technology news from The China Project in your inbox? Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter that goes out at the end of every business day in China (coffee time in New York).