Xi on ‘China-style modernization,’ China ramps up economic ties with Russia and Brazil, and offers aid to earthquake-hit Syria
News briefing for February 8, 2023
Here’s what else you need to know about China today:
Top story: China will forge ahead in modernizing its economy, Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 declared yesterday, signaling that many of its painful economic reforms aren’t going anywhere. Scroll down to read the full story.
Taiwan’s main opposition leader is in Beijing to kick off his nine-day trip to the PRC, as things heat up across the Taiwan Strait and within the island’s political parties. Meanwhile, another U.S. lawmaker is planning to visit Taipei, the latest delegation to risk Beijing’s anger.
China is filling the voids in Russia left by the West amid the fallout from Putin’s war in Ukraine, as Beijing continues to deepen economic ties with an isolated Moscow. Chinese sellers are rushing in to supply one of Russia’s most popular ecommerce sites, while one of China’s poorest provinces is sending its officials to “grab orders” from its northern neighbor.
Brazil has agreed to deepen its use of the yuan by signing a memorandum of understanding for yuan-clearing arrangements with China. The deal follows similar agreements set up with Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Laos, in a bid to boost the currency’s global clout.
China will offer $4.4 million in aid to Syria to help the country’s relief efforts, following a devastating earthquake that has left more than 8,700 people dead. China has already pledged 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) to neighboring Turkey, joining a host of nations rushing in to provide aid and assistance.
A construction firm blacklisted by the U.S. signed massive new contracts in 2022: China Communications Construction (CCCC) today reported that it signed contracts worth 1.54 trillion yuan ($227.10 billion) in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 21.64%. In the fourth quarter alone, the firm signed contracts worth 510.09 billion yuan ($75.11 billion), an increase of 95.29%.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted five CCCC dredging subsidiaries for militarizing contested islands and reefs in the South China Sea. A company partly owned by CCCC recently signed a deal with the government of Angola that could eventually give Chinese-owned mines in the DRC a railway link to the Atlantic.
