Whoosh!

• However, the launch was delayed several times for years, and the project overran its budget, costing $7.2 billion instead of the projected $6 billion.
• After considering Chinese and Japanese bids, Indonesia’s government decided to award China the project because the People’s Republic did not require any Indonesian government financing or guarantees.

Branded “Whoosh,” the high-speed railway project has been controversial:

• One leading member of Indonesia’s House of Representatives criticized the Indonesian government for not “being careful at the start, which gave China the courage to pressure us to ask for guarantees from the state budget.”
• Other problems also emerged: Some West Java residents who lived near the railroad had their houses damaged, and social impacts and environmental concerns have also been reported.

Whoosh will definitely boost Jakarta-Beijing ties, however, and Indonesia’s government will consider China as one of the potential parties to further expand the high-speed railway to Surabaya. Randy Mulyanto took the new train — which reached a speed of 216.2 miles per hour — and reports from Jakarta after returning from Bandung.

Randy Mulyanto

Beijing unveiled leadership picks for several new central agencies, publicly confirming a refreshed lineup under a sweeping institutional overhaul of its government announced earlier in March. Notable picks, reported by Caixin, include:

• Liú Zhāo 刘钊, a former vice minister of public security, was confirmed as the head of the discipline inspection group at the Social Work Department of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
• Xià Xiāndé 夏先德, who was removed from his post as vice minister of finance in July, and Wáng Jiāng 王江, former Party secretary of state-owned China Everbright Group and ex-president of the Bank of China and China Construction Bank, were named two of China’s three new financial regulators.
• Xià Bǎolóng 夏宝龙 was picked as the first director for the Party’s new office overseeing Hong Kong and Macao affairs.

The U.S. sanctioned a network of over two dozen people and companies in China for the manufacturing and distribution of large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs in the U.S.

The Treasury Department yesterday designated a total of 28 individuals and entities, 25 of which are based in China and the other three in Canada. The China-based actors were tied to a “Chinese illicit drugs syndicate” able to “synthesize multi-thousand-kilogram quantities” of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA under the leadership of Dù Chánggēn 杜长根. He and his network of companies and operatives helped orchestrate a “source of supply for dozens of narcotics traffickers in the United States, dark web vendors, virtual currency money launderers, and Mexico-based criminal organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).”

“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the press release. The new sanctions come a few months after the Department of Justice filed its first prosecutions against China-based actors for aiding the production and flow of illegal fentanyl into the U.S.

A Chinese national was one of two people killed in a shooting inside a popular shopping mall in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, the Chinese embassy confirmed (in Chinese). The Chinese national, a 34-year-old woman, and a Myanmar citizen working at the mall were shot dead by a 14-year old boy, who later surrendered and was arrested at the scene. Five others were injured, including another Chinese citizen.

The Thai government has since vowed to ensure the safety of foreign visitors, while Tourism Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol stressed the shooting was “an isolated incident.” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has since visited those in the hospital.

Typhoon Koinu is bringing heavy rains and winds to the southern tip of Taiwan before it is expected to hit land tomorrow morning, leading some areas in the east to cancel more than 90 international and domestic flights and shut schools and offices.

Chinese state media: Most of the People’s Daily front page today is National Day holiday fluf, such as a piece titled “Passenger flow is operating at a high level and transportation is smooth and orderly.”

But there is one piece that is more newsy: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 sent a telegram to congratulate Mohamed Muizzu on his election as President of the Maldives. Muizzu, the mayor of the capital Malé City, has been pushing for closer ties with China, in contrast to the pro-India incumbent, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Xinhua News Agency continues with the fourth in a series of similar infographics about Xi Jinping’s thoughts on his love for the homeland (the earlier versions are here: 1, 2, 3).

• In this year’s contest, Zhan triumphed over Chinese actress and model Gāo Yuányuán 高圆圆 with a staggering 342,059 votes, which accounted for 91% of all votes cast, compared with Gao’s 9%.
• Given Zhan’s relatively low profile before the competition, many observers were taken aback by her victory.
• But her quirky, down-to-earth personality and sense of humor had gained her a devoted following on live streaming platforms, and many of them turned out to vote.

The result of the competition may indicate a shift in the culture of Hupu, which has previously been criticized for being chauvinistic, and whose Goddess Competition has until now only rewarded conventionally attractive women, writes Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao

• China needs to increase domestic energy production in order to reduce dependence on energy imports, diversify the countries from which it imports energy, and avoid over-reliance on any single source of energy.

China quickly took advantage of falling energy prices in early 2022, and increased its energy imports from Russia.

• Russia is now China’s second-largest source of crude oil, its second-largest coal supplier, and second-largest supplier of pipeline gas.

But growing sanctions against Russia create risk and uncertainty, and this is pushing China to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, reports Yunis Sharifli from Azerbaijan.

Yunis Sharifli

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

EU probe into Chinese electric cars
China bites back as EU launches probe into electric vehicle industry / SCMP (paywall)
“The European Commission officially opened an investigation into China’s electric vehicle sector on Wednesday, saying it was ‘already in possession of sufficient evidence’ that Beijing has provided subsidies that risk damaging EU industry.”
China rebukes EU after formal launch of EV subsidy probe / Reuters
“China complained on Wednesday about the ‘very short’ time provided by the European Union to engage in consultations for the bloc’s inquiry into subsidies for electric vehicles.”

Real estate and property development
China’s property crisis has regional knock-on effects, Asean body says / SCMP (paywall)
“A regional macroeconomic surveillance body predicted on Wednesday that China’s economy will grow at a rate lower than expected three months ago, and warned its property crisis is spilling into other parts of Asia.”

Capvision
After being raided, Chinese firm says it will toe national-security line / WSJ (paywall)
“A large expert-network consulting firm, Capvision, said it had completed a Chinese government-supervised ‘rectification,’ as companies operating in the country face heightened scrutiny from authorities.”

Huawei
Opinion: U.S. regulators made Huawei’s chip ‘breakthrough’ possible / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Douglas Fuller writes: “Last month, Chinese state media proclaimed that the microchips at the core of Huawei Technologies’ flashy new flagship Mate 60 Pro smartphone showed how Chinese companies were ingeniously breaking through America’s blockade on advanced chipmaking technologies.”

ByteDance and TikTok
U.S. senators probe TikTok over staff transfer from China’s ByteDance / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Two U.S. senators sent a letter to TikTok on Tuesday asking the short-video platform to explain why it hired several high-level executives from its China-based parent, ByteDance.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China’s United Front
China’s United Front operations are ubiquitous — at home / Foreign Policy (paywall)
“One department now oversees everything from religion to winter sports to influence operations.”

Military
Will Xi’s military modernization pay off? / Foreign Affairs (paywall)
“China’s armed forces are more capable — but Beijing feels less secure.”

Xinjiang
The U.S. warns of a Chinese global disinformation campaign that could undermine peace and stability / AP
“For much of the world, China’s Xinjiang region is notorious, a place where ethnic Uyghurs face forced labor and arbitrary detention. But a group of visiting foreign journalists was left with a decidedly different impression.”

Taiwan
Taiwan indicts two communist party members accused of colluding with China to influence elections / AP
“Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted two leaders of the island’s tiny Taiwan People’s Communist Party on accusations they colluded with China in an effort to influence next year’s elections for president and members of the legislative assembly.”
Taiwan says China has ‘very diverse’ ways of interfering in election / Reuters
“China has ‘very diverse’ ways of interfering in Taiwan’s elections in January, from military pressure to spreading fake news, including manipulating opinion polls, a senior Taiwanese security official said on Wednesday.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Schumer to lead a bipartisan delegation of senators to China, South Korea and Japan next week / AP
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to China next week, traveling to the country amid heightened tensions and after several members of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet visited over the summer.”
U.S. Senate majority leader to lead delegation to China next week / Caixin (paywall)
China’s Foreign Minister is headed to Washington / Foreign Policy (paywall)
“Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 is expected to visit Washington later this month in a bid to manage increasingly frosty relations and pave the way for a highly anticipated but still unscheduled meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平, according to three U.S. and East Asian diplomats familiar with the matter.”
Treasury’s Yellen says U.S. overdependent on China for critical supply chains / Reuters
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the United States has become overly dependent on China for critical supply chains, particularly in clean energy products and needs to broaden out sources of supply.”
Anti-China rhetoric in U.S. campaign could hurt ‘new window of opportunity’ to improve ties: analysts / SCMP (paywall)
“A rise in anti-China rhetoric ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election could affect the ‘new window of opportunity’ for improved ties between the two superpowers, but both Beijing and Washington can take a more ‘pragmatic approach’ to ease tensions and build trust, said analysts at a foreign policy forum in Singapore.”

U.S. takes stand against Chinese companies linked with fentanyl
U.S. takes action against Chinese companies, people tied to fentanyl / Reuters
“The United States on Tuesday announced actions against Chinese companies and people as President Joe Biden’s administration targets trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl, unsealing indictments and imposing sanctions on dozens of targets.”
U.S. takes action against Chinese individuals, companies for fentanyl / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
U.S. takes aim at fentanyl with sanctions on China-based network / FT (paywall)

Japan
Japan courts Canada, Australia for China-free EV supply chain / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Japan is looking to Canada and Australia for critical materials used in electric vehicle batteries as U.S. policy pushes companies to develop China-free supply chains.”

Russia
China border city thrives as trade with Russia booms / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The 12 hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. were no longer enough to accommodate trade in this Chinese city located on the border with Russia. So port operations in Manzhouli, located in Inner Mongolia, had to go round the clock to deal with the increased traffic.”

Germany
Vice-Premier He Lifeng shown to be China’s point man on economic ties, reaching trade agreement with Germany / SCMP (paywall)
“Vice-Premier Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 has become China’s point man on economic ties with multiple developed economies and he covers a bigger footprint on trade than his predecessor Liú Hè 刘鹤.”

Europe
Choppy waters as Europe navigates China-U.S. rivalry / Reuters
“At a World Trade Organization event in September, former British prime minister Gordon Brown voiced out loud the fear that has quietly started to echo in the halls of power across Europe.”
China finds friends in Europe’s far right / Foreign Policy (paywall)
“A German politician’s ties to a Chinese influence network are part of a pattern across Central and Eastern Europe.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Chinese zodiac
A new history of the Chinese zodiac / Sixth Tone
“Horses, pigs, goats, and oxen all played crucial, if largely forgotten, roles in the development of early Chinese civilization. Now, a leading zooarchaeologist is trying to piece that history back together, one bone at a time.”

Art collecting
China’s top art investor amassed a big collection. Now he’s selling / NYT (paywall)
“Few Chinese art collectors have made a bigger splash at global auctions in the past decade than Liu Yiqian, a former Shanghai taxi driver who amassed a fortune through big bets on Chinese real estate and pharmaceutical stocks.”

Tensions brew around Tibetan Buddhism
The 8-year-old boy at the heart of a fight over Tibetan Buddhism / NYT (paywall)
“The boy had seemed destined for a life of affluence and earthly pursuits. Born into the family behind a major mining conglomerate in Mongolia, he might have been picked to someday lead the company from its steel-and-glass headquarters in the country’s capital. Instead, the eight-year-old is now at the heart of a struggle between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Communist Party.”
Here’s what to know about tensions over Tibetan Buddhism / NYT (paywall)
“Tibetan Buddhism has long been led by the Dalai Lama, the 88-year-old spiritual leader who fled Tibet in 1959 and has been living in exile in India ever since.”

Asian Games censorship snafu
Asian Games 2023: China appears to censor ‘Tiananmen’ picture with athletes wearing ‘6/4’ numbers / SCMP (paywall)
“China appears to have censored a picture of two of its Asian Games athletes embracing on the athletics track when the numbers on their uniforms inadvertently matched the dates of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.”

The ethics of bear bile farming
China struggles to wean itself off bear bile farming / Caixin (paywall)
“Bear bile has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for more than a thousand years with proven efficacy in treating certain liver and gallbladder diseases. Its popularity in China has made a comeback after a scientific research paper published in December 2022 found ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a compound found in bear bile, might help prevent the SARS-CoV2 virus that causes COVID-19 from infecting human cells.”

Tennis
Asia’s biggest men’s tennis tournament returns to Shanghai / Sixth Tone
“The Shanghai Masters, China’s premier tennis tournament for men, has returned after a four-year absence. The ATP Masters 1000 Tournament is the latest tennis event to be held in China as professional tennis makes its comeback following the pandemic.”