Man crashes car into Chinese consulate in San Francisco

• Official details of the investigation are ongoing. Police said they didn’t know why the unidentified man crashed through the front of the consulate, nor did they describe how many people were in the building or how the shooting unfolded. No other injuries have currently been reported.
• Video footage from the scene showed a blue Honda sedan inside the lobby of the consulate’s visa office and dozens of people fleeing the building.
• Sergii Molchanov, a 32-year-old graduate student at Stanford Medicine who was at the scene at the time of the incident, told the New York Times that about 20 people were in the waiting area of the visa office when the crash occurred. “This guy comes out of the car shouting and saying, ‘Where is the C.C.P.?’” Molchanov told the New York Times.
• The Chinese consulate in San Francisco said that it “strongly condemns this violent attack and reserves the right to pursue responsibility for the incident.”

While the motivations are unclear, San Francisco has one of the oldest and most established Chinatowns in the U.S., and is home to one of the country’s biggest Chinese populations: Over 20% in the city, or about 180,000 people, had Chinese roots in 2021.

Yesterday’s crash comes as San Francisco prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month, where U.S. President Joe Biden said he may “potentially” meet with his Chinese counterpart Xí Jìnpíng 习近平.

Click here for all the details.

Nadya Yeh

China will conduct a nationwide survey on population changes in November to help better plan population policies, as the government tries to lift the country’s declining birth rate and support its rapidly aging population. China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced (in Chinese) the survey today, just two years after it last conducted its once-in-a-decade census in November 2020. In January this year, the country logged its first population drop in six decades.

Belgium security services are investigating “possible espionage” at Alibaba’s main logistics hub, as Europe ramps up scrutiny over potential security and economic risks from Chinese companies, the Financial Times reported.

In 2018, Alibaba signed an agreement with Belgium to open the hub at the cargo airport in Liège, Europe’s fifth-largest cargo airport. It is run by Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao, and mainly deals with goods sold directly to European consumers through AliExpress, the company’s ecommerce site.

But for the past two years, the Belgium State Security Service (VSSE) has reportedly been monitoring Alibaba’s operations due to a Chinese regulation that requires companies to share their data with Chinese authorities. Cainiao has denied the allegations, stating that it is “in compliance with all laws and regulations.”

China hit back at the Philippines for violating its “territorial sovereignty” in the disputed South China Sea, after a series of escalating incidents over the past few weeks.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday claiming its jurisdiction over the Second Thomas Shoal, known as the Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, but which China calls the Ren’ai Reef (仁爱礁 Rén’ài Jiāo). It is part of the disputed Spratly Island archipelago in the South China Sea, which is also claimed partly or in whole by Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia.

Last week, video footage showed a Chinese coast guard ship coming within a few feet of a Philippine vessel attempting a resupply mission around the shoal.

China is continuing an investigation into what it calls Taiwan’s “trade barriers.” The Commerce Ministry originally announced the probe in April, but has now extended the investigation period to January 12, one day before Taiwan’s presidential elections. Taiwan has accused Beijing of attempting to interfere in the vote.

China and Saudi Arabia launched a joint naval exercise focused on overseas maritime counterterrorism operations yesterday in Zhanjiang, southern Guangdong Province, the latest effort to strengthen ties.

Notable reads: The New Yorker has published a two-part report by Ian Urbina: The crimes behind the seafood you eat, and The Uyghurs forced to process the world’s fish about the human rights and environmental abuses perpetrated by China’s enormous distant-water fishing fleet, and the factories that process the fish and the quid it brings back to land.

Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency’s top story today is a dumbed-down infographic titled “General Secretary Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 deploys propaganda, ideological, and cultural work like this.”

The People’s Daily’s top story is about yesterday’s opening of the 18th National Congress of Chinese Trade Unions, attended by Xi Jinping. Trade Unions in China are controlled by the government and do not allow workers to organize independently or strike.

• Domestic tourism revenue reached 753.43 billion yuan ($103.24 billion), a 1.5% increase from 2019.
• Photos on social media showed traffic jams of tourists on camels in the Gansu desert, and other sites like the Great Wall packed beyond comfortable capacity.

However, tourism spending fell short of government predictions. Click through for all the details and numbers.

Zhao Yuanyuan

• Former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s pro-Indian political party still has a super-majority in the legislature, a probable check on moves that might radically shift the country from India toward China.
• Maldivian debt is also at unsustainably high levels, meaning small-scale Chinese projects are likely the new norm, as opposed to big ones.

Much of the Maldives’ debt is to China, and was accrued by former president Abdullah Yameen, now in prison on charges of corruption.

• Incidentally, the boom years in the China-Maldives relationship began with Yameen’s election in 2013. Yameen told President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 in 2014 that China was now one of the Maldives’s “closest friends, most trusted allies, and the most dependable development partners.”
• Chinese banks and businesses threw around big money, allowing local politicians to skim off the top. The Maldivian government pledged a sovereign guarantee for $127 million in Chinese loans for a joint construction project of the Maldives’s biggest holiday resort.

Don’t expect these splashy projects to come back anytime soon under Muizzu, says Alex Colville in this week’s China Ties column.

Alex Colville

• Xiconomics: What China’s Dual Circulation Strategy Means for Global Business is the title of a new book by Andrew Cainey, founding director of the U.K. National Committee. Christopher Marquis asked him all about it in the latest installment of China Book Chats.

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

IMF lowers growth predictions for China to 5% this year and 4.2% in 2024
China growth forecasts downgraded by IMF as world economies diverge / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Growth projections for China’s economy for both 2023 and 2024 were downgraded by the International Monetary Fund as the country’s real estate crisis as well as weakened consumer and business confidence pose ‘significant risks’ for a global economy that has otherwise proved surprisingly resilient.”

Europe is buying less from China
Who’s eating China’s export lunch in the EU? / Caixin (paywall)
“In the first eight months of 2023, the U.S.-dollar value of China’s exports to the European Union fell 10.5% from the same period last year. This was largely due to declining demand from the bloc amid a high-interest-rate environment, and China’s share of the bloc’s total imports has not decreased significantly.”

U.S.-China tech war
China premier balks at U.S. blacklist with visit to sanctioned surveillance giant, calls for digital economy revolution / SCMP (paywall)
“During a weekend visit to eastern China’s hi-tech firms – including one blacklisted by the United States — Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 coaxed industry players to pace up their digital transformations while generating new growth momentum.”

New support for private sector
China issues legal guidelines to support private business / Reuters
“China’s highest court on Tuesday issued guidelines to improve the legal environment for private business, state media CCTV said, suggesting renewed efforts by policymakers to support the private sector, a key growth driver.”

Electric vehicles
Chinese EV maker Xpeng says vice president suspended for investigation related to corruption / Reuters
“Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng said its vice president Li Feng has been suspended for an investigation related to corruption, according to a company statement on Tuesday.”

Coal
China to be hardest hit by global coal mine layoffs / Caixin (paywall)
“Chinese miners will likely be hardest hit by sweeping job cuts expected in the coal industry over the next three decades, as countries across the world shutter coal plants in favor of cleaner, and increasingly cheaper, renewable energy, a new analysis has found.”

Airlines
Former State Council official named chairman of China Eastern Airlines / Caixin (paywall)
“Former State Council official Wáng Zhìqīng 王志清 has been named chairman of China Eastern Air Holding Co. Ltd. (CEA Holding), filling a position that has been vacant for more than a year.”

Steel
EU plans anti-subsidy probe into Chinese steelmakers / FT (paywall)
“The EU is planning to announce anti-subsidy investigations against Chinese steelmakers at a summit with the U.S. this month as they further develop a common front against Beijing.”

China and the debt of developing countries
Seeing China’s side of the EM debt debate / FT (paywall)
“Stricken countries are suffering as China and the Western-dominated IMF engage in a titanic wrestling match over debt crisis-resolution architecture. It’s a massive problem that could be a destructive force for decades.”

AI and semiconductors
Saudi-China collaboration raises concerns about access to AI chips / FT (paywall)
“Saudi-Chinese collaboration in artificial intelligence has stirred fears within the Gulf kingdom’s premier academic institution that the ties could jeopardize the university’s access to U.S.-made chips needed to power the new technology.”
China plans big AI, computing buildup in boon for local firms / Caixin (paywall)
“China aims to grow the country’s computing power by more than a third in less than three years, a move set to benefit local suppliers and boost technology self-reliance as U.S. sanctions pressure domestic industry.”

Country Garden
Country Garden says can’t meet all offshore debt payments, setting stage for revamp / Reuters
“Country Garden warned on Tuesday about its inability to meet offshore debt obligations, potentially joining a growing list of Chinese developers that have defaulted and setting the stage for one of the country’s biggest debt restructurings.”
Chinese developer Country Garden says it can’t meet debt payment deadlines after sales slump / AP
China’s Country Garden succumbs to debt crisis after sales plunge / WSJ (paywall)

Huawei
Huawei aims to double smartphone shipments to 70 million next year / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Huawei has been stockpiling components for months as it aims to double its smartphone sales next year despite expectations of a further U.S. crackdown.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Solar power
Emeren completes grid connection of solar energy storage project in China / Reuters
“Solar project developer Emeren Group said on Tuesday it has completed the grid connection of its inaugural solar storage project last month in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.”

Extreme weather
Flood-proofing China’s northern plains / Sixth Tone
“Though the region is more associated with drought than heavy rainfall, worsening summer flood seasons require a coordinated response.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Corruption
Former mayor expelled from Communist Party over falsifying economic data / Caixin (paywall)
Sūn Shùtāo 孙述涛, a “former mayor of Jinan in East China’s Shandong province has been removed from public office and expelled from the Communist Party of China over alleged crimes including taking bribes and falsifying economic data, authorities said Monday.”

Forced labor and other crimes in the seafood industry
The Uyghurs forced to process the world’s fish / New Yorker (paywall)
“China forces minorities from Xinjiang to work in industries around the country. As it turns out, this includes handling much of the seafood sent to America and Europe.”
The crimes behind the seafood you eat / New Yorker (paywall)
“China has invested heavily in an armada of far-flung fishing vessels, in part to extend its global influence. This maritime expansion has come at grave human cost.”

Belt and Road
China touts its Belt and Road infrastructure lending as an alternative for international development / AP
“China is touting its 10-year-old Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] as an alternative model for economic development, releasing a government report that praises the program while glossing over criticism that it has saddled poor countries with too much debt.”
China marks decade of belt and road with white paper declaring redoubled commitment to help developing countries / SCMP (paywall)
“China has redoubled its commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative and says it is open to any project that can help developing countries.”
China vows Belt and Road ramp up despite debt-trap criticism / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China on Tuesday said it will ramp up the Belt and Road Initiative as it turns a decade old, snubbing criticism that the globe-spanning investment blitz is a debt trap for developing nations.”

• On The China Project: The BRI at 10

Nuclear warfare
Majority of Chinese believe nuclear war could happen: poll / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“More than half of Chinese people believe a nuclear war could occur in the near future as Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and superpowers fail in nuclear disarmament, according to a public opinion poll released on Tuesday.”
The U.S. nuclear arsenal can deter both China and Russia / Foreign Affairs (paywall)
“In a speech this June, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan drew attention to China’s nuclear buildup, Russia’s development of new nuclear capabilities, and the United States’ planned response.”

Taiwan
Taiwan president says ‘peace is the only option’, as Tsai Ing-wen eyes legacy / SCMP (paywall)
“Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文 Cài Yīngwén) has called on Beijing to develop a ‘mutually acceptable foundation’ for interactions and ‘peaceful coexistence’ with the island, as she sought to ease cross-strait hostilities before stepping down next year.”
Tsai stresses Taiwan’s resolve as China steps up pressure / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen lauded reforms under her watch and called for ‘peaceful coexistence’ with China in an address that came as Beijing steps up bans on Taiwanese imports and increased military activity in the region.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Schumer notes ‘serious engagement’ with China’s Xi during Beijing visit / Reuters
“U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday there had been ‘serious engagement’ during a meeting between a visiting U.S. bipartisan congressional delegation and Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平.”
U.S. ambassador to China praises Senate delegation’s ‘frank and honest’ talks with Xi / Caixin (paywall)
“The U.S. Ambassador to China applauded the latest engagement between top Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping and a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Senate, describing the high-level discussions as ‘substantive, productive, frank and honest.’”

Driver crashes into Chinese consulate in San Francisco
San Francisco police kill driver of car that crashed into China consulate / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Law enforcement officers fatally shot the driver of a vehicle that plowed through the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and into the lobby of the building’s visa office on Monday, city police said.”
China urges swift U.S. action after car crashes into San Francisco consulate / Caixin (paywall)
Police fatally shoot driver who crashed into Chinese consulate in San Francisco / NYT (paywall)

Philippines
Philippines says China coast guard did not drive away navy gunboat / Reuters
“The Philippines’ military chief on Tuesday dismissed as ‘propaganda’ a statement by China’s coast guard that said it had driven away a Filipino navy gunboat from around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.”
China drives away Philippine gunboat near disputed Scarborough Shoal / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s coast guard says it drove away a Philippine navy gunboat near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Tuesday.”

Russia
What Russia really wants / Foreign Affairs
“How Moscow’s desire for autonomy could give America an edge over China.”

Israel-Palestine conflict
China will help citizens leave Israel-Hamas war zone ‘if their safety is guaranteed’ / SCMP (paywall)
“As the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas entered a fourth day, China said it would help its citizens leave the war zone ‘if their safety is guaranteed.’”
China hedges on Israel-Hamas war as U.S. urges stronger stance / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The war erupting between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel poses a complex test for China’s aspirations to become a key diplomatic player in the Middle East, analysts say, just as Beijing was looking to broker new peace talks.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Grief and tech
Mourning 2.0: The AI-driven era of coping with loss in China / Sixth Tone
“With advancements in AI, several Chinese companies are now venturing into the world of griefbots and digital avatars, which help reconnect with lost loved ones. But experts warn of over-reliance, potential misuse, and the ethics of digital resurrection.”