Strongman season in Beijing

• Assad is leading a delegation to several Chinese cities, and will also have a summit with Xi on Friday September 22.
• This is Assad’s first visit to China since 2004 and a rare foreign trip for Syria’s embattled president since the start of a civil war in 2011.
• Syria has been trying to attract investment from China for a long time, especially for its oil industry, but the big question is whether any proposals discussed during this visit will turn into actual projects.

China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 yesterday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during Wang’s four-day state visit to Russia.

• During the meeting with Wang, Putin accepted an invitation to visit China in October for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will be held in Beijing.
• Wang stated that China is willing to work together with Russia, and that both sides need to strengthen their multilateral strategic cooperation and protect their legitimate rights and interests.

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Barry van Wyk

China announced its new five-year plan to crack down on “industrial, systemic and regional corruption,” according to the 2023-2027 work plan of the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group. It will extend Beijiing’s anti-corruption campaign to sectors such as employment, entrepreneurship, social security, food and drug safety, and law enforcement, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement yesterday.

China’s top 15 healthcare billionaires have lost a combined $17 billion since the end of 2022, falling from $101.4 billion to $84.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It comes as Beijing conducts a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the country’s healthcare sector which has shaken investor confidence and ensnared hundreds of hospital chiefs and pharmaceutical executives.

China approved some export licenses of gallium and germanium, its Ministry of Commerce announced today. Yesterday, official trade data showed that germanium and gallium exports had plunged to zero in August, after Beijing imposed export curbs on the two key metals used to make semiconductors and other electronics at the beginning of the month.

A zoo in Liaoning Province is struggling to stay afloat and has appealed to the public for donations to feed its animals and pay its staff, as cash-strapped local governments cut back on spending to counter its piles of debt in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

“There are still bear cubs in the park that need to be fed, the [horse] mare is about to give birth and her food has been reduced by half, and the zoo’s staff have not been paid for six months,” China’s Endangered Species Fund said in a Weibo post earlier this month. “We hope relevant departments can pay attention to this issue!”

Chinese state media: The People’s Daily print edition leads with a story titled “Hold high the banner of common development and walk on the right path of human progress,” which is an encomium to the Global Development Initiative, one of Xi’s efforts to reshape international norms to accord with the Chinese Communist Party’s worldview, along with the Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative.

There’s also a piece that says the revenue of the top 500 Chinese companies exceeded 108 trillion yuan ($14.78 trillion) in 2022, an increase of 5.74% over the previous year.

Xinhua News Agency leads with a piece on Xi Jinping visiting the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, where he “relived the birth and evolution” of the Fengqiao Experience, which the China Media Project says “refers to a heavily mythologized approach to social and political governance that essentially directed the masses themselves at the local level to carry out the on-site ‘rectification’ of so-called ‘reactionary elements’ in society.”

• China has witnessed periods of level or declining coal consumption several times in the past, and after each of those periods, coal consumption bounced back to record levels.
• The year 2022 was almost different. Over the first half of the year, China’s coal consumption was down significantly, but due to a late summer drought, 30% of the power grid had to be covered by burning coal and other fossil fuels.

Despite reports that China is set to depend on coal for years to come, the country has a new opportunity to cap coal consumption in 2023, and the ultimate make-or-break segment for coal consumption will once again be power generation.

• Peak coal consumption seems to be at odds with the surge in new coal plant construction in China, but China’s fleet of coal-fired power generators faces a future role as a firm but flexible source of backup power for intermittent generation from solar and wind.

China’s coal future defies simplification. Get the story straight with David Fishman’s report from China’s 2023 Coal Market Summit.

David Fishman

• Prior to the event, China circulated a letter discouraging diplomats from attending the event they said was sponsored by the “notorious anti-China organizations” The Atlantic Council, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.
• “They are obsessed with fabricating lies and spreading malicious disinformation about Xinjiang with no respect for the truth” a copy of the letter obtained by The China Project said.

But human rights advocates and diplomats at the event publicly went ahead and discussed the findings of the report former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet released in September 2022.

• Other countries whose government representatives were present at the event or registered to view it online included Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand.

After the live-streamed discussion, two diplomats not on the scheduled program stood from the floor to take the microphone and voice public support for their efforts in defiance of China’s request they not attend.

Jonathan Landreth

• Thunder Out of China is one of the most popular WWII books of all time. Annalee Jacoby and Teddy White were in their early 20s — yet already accomplished war correspondents — when they arrived in Chongqing. Their reportage from China’s wartime capital was immediately popular with the reading public, and has largely withstood the test of time. Their 1946 book is the latest in Paul French’s Ultimate China Bookshelf.

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Economic gloom or boom
Xi Jinping faces impasse in jump-starting China’s economy / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The Chinese government under President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is running out of options to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy.”

U.S.-China tech war
Opinion: Tech remains central in the Hot Peace between China and the U.S. / FT (paywall)
John Thornhill writes: “Read the headlines and the picture is clear: geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China have risen alarmingly and the world’s two biggest economies are decoupling fast. U.S. investors have been hearing that message and knocked $200bn off the stock market value of Apple this month following reports that Beijing had banned the use of the US company’s phones by state officials.”

Electric vehicles
China gives EV sector billions of yuan in subsidies / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s generosity to the electric vehicle sector when it comes to handing out subsidies has come under fresh scrutiny since the European commission announced an investigation into the matter. An analysis of listed companies shows that substantial amounts of government money are indeed flowing to the strategically important industry.”

Semiconductor production
China approves export licenses for chip materials gallium, germanium / Reuters
“Some Chinese companies have obtained export licenses for gallium and germanium products, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, after Beijing set new conditions on exports from Aug. 1.”
Huawei smartphone spin-off Honor has no plans to develop own advanced chips, CEO says, as Qualcomm and MediaTek offer ‘best solutions’ / SCMP (paywall)
“Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei Technologies, has no intention to develop its own system-on-a-chip (SoC) products, as it aims to continue using core semiconductors supplied by Taiwan’s MediaTek and US tech firm Qualcomm…”
What the most ‘Chinese’ smartphone yet tells us about politics / FT (paywall)
“What is the significance of Huawei’s new smartphone chip? The controversial Chinese telecoms company has attracted headlines because its new Mate 60 Pro phone has a sophisticated homegrown chip. SMIC, the Chinese chipmaker that Huawei collaborated with, has never previously made such an advanced semiconductor.”

Boosting foreign trade
Xi Jinping visits manufacturing hub Yiwu to hear about efforts to boost foreign trade / SCMP (paywall)
“President Xi Jinping visited the manufacturing hub of Yiwu in eastern China on Wednesday to see how exporters are trying to boost foreign trade, state news agency Xinhua reported.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Climate change
China’s top climate envoy decries trade controls on renewables as US and EU diplomats push Beijing on emissions goals / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s top climate envoy Xiè Zhènhuá 解振华 described export controls on renewable energy products as ‘politicizing’ and ‘imperiling’ decarbonisation goals as diplomats from the US and the European Union urged Beijing to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

China leads the way in scientific research
China beats U.S. in top global scientific papers ranking: report / SCMP (paywall)
“For the first time, China has surpassed the US with the number of ‘hot papers’ published and cited in the world’s most influential journals, a new report has found.”
China, Japan and South Korea occupy top spots in global index of scientific innovation / SCMP (paywall)
“Three Chinese science and technology clusters have made the top five in a global innovation index, behind Japan but ahead of the United States.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Military
What are the latest upgrades in China’s military? / Reuters
“China’s long-term military modernisation efforts are bearing fruit, with a string of upgrades for its warships and warplanes under way amid intensifying tensions in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the Taiwan Strait.”
Chinese navy seeks graduate students for warplane pilot program / Reuters
“The Chinese navy wants to hire graduate students to fly shipborne aircraft, and is raising the age limit to expand its search as it seeks to improve the qualifications of its air personnel and build a ‘strong army.’”
Analysis: Military elder put silent pressure on Xi at Beidaihe / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“A 94-year-old military heavyweight was sitting silently as President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and other top decision-makers of the Chinese Communist Party carefully listened to another retired party elder remark on the country’s situation at a meeting at the seaside resort of Beidaihe this summer.”

China’s controversial ‘hurt feelings’ law
China’s ‘hurt feelings’ law is tailor-made for Xi Jinping / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
A “provision in a draft amendment to the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, now open for public comment…would prohibit “conduct and merchandise” that would ‘hurt the feelings of the Chinese ethnicity’…The unprecedented proposal has generated an uproar that may represent the largest grassroots backlash against a new Chinese law in decades.”

Corruption
China launches five-year plan for anti-graft campaign / Caixin (paywall)
“China has released a new five-year plan to deepen its corruption crackdown in sectors such as finance, health care, sports, higher education and on state-owned enterprises, with an aim to stamp out ‘industrial, systemic and regional corruption.’”

ASEAN
ASEAN to stay priority for China’s BRI investment despite slowdown / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Despite slowing growth at home, Southeast Asia will remain an investment priority for China and a core target for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as Beijing views the region as geopolitically important to counter U.S. influence, economists say.”

Hong Kong
Hong Kong says it calls the shots, not Beijing. investors are wary. / NYT (paywall)
“Its close ties to Beijing are putting the city, still an international financial hub, in a bind as it lures Western investors to revive its economy.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
The case against containment / Foreign Affairs (paywall)
“In the great debate over how the United States should respond to an increasingly assertive China, many commentators have advocated a ready-made solution: containment.”

Japan
Japan says it continues to seek release of Astellas worker detained in China / Reuters
“Japan is continuing its efforts to seek the prompt release of an employee of Astellas Pharma who has been detained in China since March, Japan’s top government spokesman said on Thursday.”

Brazil
Brazil backs away from Ukraine ‘peace club’ proposal for China, US, EU and others to help end war / SCMP (paywall)
“The Brazilian government has backed away from the idea of creating a ‘peace club’ to mediate in the war in Ukraine – a project that had been discussed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva since last year when he was running for office.”

Russia
Putin accepts invitation to visit China in October after meeting Chinese foreign minister in Moscow / AP
“Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he accepted an invitation from his Chinese counterpart to visit China in October during the Belt and Road Summit.”

Syria
Syria’s Assad in China, seeks exit from diplomatic isolation / Reuters
“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou, kicking off his first visit to the Asian nation since 2004 as he makes further strides to end more than a decade of diplomatic isolation amid Western sanctions.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad arrives in China on first visit since the beginning of war in Syria / AP
China welcomes Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for summit / FT (paywall)
“Syrian president Bashar al-Assad arrived in China on Thursday for a bilateral summit in his first visit since a civil war erupted in his country 12 years ago.”
Syria’s leader visits China in search of friends and funds / NYT (paywall)

EU
China, EU to hold high-level economic and trade dialogue in Beijing / Reuters
“The 10th China-European Union High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue will be held in Beijing on Sept. 25, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.”
EU envoy calls for ‘progress’ on China trade barriers ahead of high-level talks / FT (paywall)
“The EU has fired a warning shot at China ahead of high-level trade talks, demanding that Beijing make ‘progress’ to reduce its trade deficit, which hit €396bn last year, described by the bloc’s most senior diplomat as the highest in ‘the history of mankind.’”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Language restrictions
China’s language police / Foreign Affairs
“In late August, authorities in Hong Kong raided the home of Andrew Chan, the founder of a Cantonese-language advocacy group called the Hong Kong Language Learning Association.”

Asian Games
Unique sports at the Asian Games in Hangzhou / Reuters
“The Asian Games officially begin on Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and will feature several sports that are unlikely to be seen in any other major continental or global competitions.”
Glum mood overhangs China’s Asian Games – ‘People just don’t care’ / Reuters
“China hopes to make a splash with the Asian Games, opening on Saturday, but nationwide excitement has been muted as the economy sputters and some locals question the cost of the sporting extravaganza.”
Asian Games 2023: President Xi Jinping to attend opening ceremony with overseas leaders as China promises ‘visual feast’ / SCMP (paywall)

Asian star faces fraud accusations in Hong Kong
Hong Kong police question Asian film star Julian Cheung over alleged HK$1.3 billion JPEX fraud / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong police have questioned Asian film and television star Julian Cheung Chi-lam (张智霖 Zhāng Zhìlín) in connection with an alleged HK$1.3 billion (US$166 million) fraud centered on the JPEX cryptocurrency platform, the Post has learned.”

Web literature
China’s web literature popularity continues to grow overseas / Sixth Tone
“Industry representatives are starting to compare Chinese online literature with Hollywood films and K-dramas in terms of global reach.”

A disabled woman in China shares her story
On stage and in a wheelchair / Sixth Tone
“The spotlight shined down on a young woman in a wheelchair as she launched into her monologue. ‘Why do I sometimes have to act weak for people to think I’m normal?’ she asked. ‘Why do I sometimes have to act stronger than others for people to think I’m normal? What even is normal?’”