Category Archives: China

Point of no return: crunch time as China tries to fend off property crash

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With the global economy also at a crossroads, Beijing’s leadership faces a perilous test of nerve on its lending crackdown and zero-Covid strategy

China has reached a point of no return in its battle to contain what could be the biggest property crash the world has ever seen, experts believe, creating a perilous moment for the country’s Communist leadership and the global economy.

As western countries stand on the edge of a potentially ruinous recession in the coming year, China is also facing a slump thanks to “total collapse” of confidence among ordinary people in the once-buoyant housing market, the continued ravages of Beijing’s draconian zero-Covid strategy and an extreme heatwave that is affecting the supply of power and food.

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‘We are Chinese’: meet the Taiwanese who want to embrace Beijing rule

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Surveys reveal that up to 12% of the country supports unification with China, including five of its citizens in a Taipei restaurant

At a Cantonese restaurant in Taipei, Harry Chen and four old friends are shouting at each other over a Lazy Susan, stopping occasionally to toast each other with Canadian whisky or translate their argument into English.

All are retired men in their 70s – the sons of Chinese nationalist soldiers – and were born or grew up in Taiwan during its brutal decades of martial law.

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Chinese city’s residents made to queue for Covid tests in heat above 40C

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Chongqing authorities criticised for move as area faces heatwave, wildfires, severe drought and power outages

Residents of the south-western Chinese city of Chongqing have been queueing on the streets to be tested for Covid, despite extreme temperatures that have soared past 40C (104F) this week.

Photos posted on Chinese social media also showed health workers testing residents while wearing full hazmat suits in the heatwave. Other images showed that the tests were being carried out while bushfires raged in the background, prompting descriptions of the situation as “apocalyptic”.

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US ship unable to get Solomon Islands’ permission to dock, says Washington

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Honiara did not respond to request for coast guard vessel to refuel amid tensions over security pact with China

A United States coast guard vessel was unable to enter Solomon Islands for a routine port call because its government did not respond to a request to refuel and provision, a US official said.

The Solomons government did not immediately answer a Reuters request for comment. It has had a tense relationship with the US and its allies since striking a security pact with China in May.

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Huawei founder sparks alarm in China with warning of ‘painful’ next decade

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Ren Zhengfei writes in leaked memo that ‘chill will be felt by everyone’ and company must focus on survival

The founder of Huawei has delivered a stark warning for the tech company’s future, sparking alarm with the frankness of his assessment and what it signals for smaller businesses amid China’s economic troubles and a global downturn.

In a leaked internal memo, Ren Zhengfei told Huawei staff “the chill will be felt by everyone” and the company must focus on profit over cashflow and expansion if it is to survive the next three years, indicating further job cuts and divestments.

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China warns Canada over planned Taiwan visit by parliamentarians

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Beijing threatens ‘forceful measures’ if Canada ‘interferes’ as MPs plan trade delegation to Taipei later this year

China warned it will take “forceful measures” if Canada “interferes” in Taiwan, a week after it emerged that a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians was planning to visit the island later this year to explore trade opportunities.

China claims Taiwan as its territory under its “one-China principle” and objects to foreign politicians visiting the island. Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China’s claims.

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China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk

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Local authorities told to take measures and ‘use every unit of water carefully’ in effort to save autumn harvest

A drought in China is threatening food production, prompting the government to order local authorities to take all available measures to ensure crops survive the hottest summer on record.

On Tuesday, four government departments issued an urgent joint emergency notice, warning that the autumn harvest was under “severe threat”. It urged local authorities to ensure “every unit of water … be used carefully”, and called for methods included staggered irrigation, the diversion of new water sources, and cloud seeding.

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China increases warship capability with production of guided-missile destroyers, experts say

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Prof John Blaxland says China’s navy expansion is ‘in stark contrast’ to trajectories of other countries including Australia

China is “exponentially” increasing its warship capability and has reportedly re-started mass production of guided-missile destroyers.

The Chinese Communist party-controlled newspaper, the Global Times, reported on Tuesday that China would complete its military expansion and modernisation by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests”.

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Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai to plead not guilty in national security case

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Democracy activist and Apple Daily founder will stand trial without jury and could face up to life in prison

The founder of Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, will stand trial without a jury in Hong Kong, after he told a court he would plead not guilty to national security charges.

On Monday, prosecutors told a case management hearing that Lai would challenge the accusations but six fellow executives and manager from the now-defunct Apple Daily or its parent company, Next Digital, intended to plead guilty.

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China punishes 27 people over ‘tragically ugly’ illustrations in maths textbook

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Investigation finds the books did not ‘properly reflect the sunny image of China’s children’

Chinese authorities have punished 27 people over the publication of a maths textbook that went viral over its “tragically ugly” illustrations.

A months-long investigation by a ministry of education working group found the books were “not beautiful”, and some illustrations were “quite ugly” and did not “properly reflect the sunny image of China’s children”.

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Chinese censors alter ending of Minions: The Rise of Gru film

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Viewers mock addendum explaining Gru’s family values and arrest of thief Wild Knuckles

Censors in China have changed the ending of the animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru for its domestic release, according to viewers in the country, in yet another example of China altering a popular Hollywood film.

According to posts and screenshots of the film, shared on Weibo, a platform similar to Twitter, there is an addendum by censors showing that Wild Knuckles, a main character in the heist film, was caught by police and served 20 years in jail.

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Chinese firm Miniso apologises for Japanese branding after outcry

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Consumers complained the homeware and electronics company was not supporting its national roots

A Chinese retail company has apologised for styling itself as a Japanese store, saying it made “serious mistakes”.

Miniso, which sells homeware and electronics, used a logo and branding that appeared similar to that of the Japanese clothing firm Uniqlo. It has been under criticism from Chinese consumers who believed it was not supporting its Chinese roots.

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Conflict in South China Sea would threaten 90% of Australia’s fuel imports

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The country would run out within two months of a major disruption. Here are five ways to reduce vulnerability

China’s sabre-rattling about Taiwan underlines the need for Australia to be prepared for conflict in the South China Sea.

With its growing navy and air force, and the bases it has built throughout the area, China is increasingly capable of disrupting shipping lanes crucial to Australia’s exports and imports.

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Fears over China’s access to genetic data of UK citizens

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Biobank urged to review transfer of information for medical research

Rising political and security tensions between Beijing and the west have prompted calls for a review of the transfer of genetic data to China from a biomedical database containing the DNA of half a million UK citizens.

The UK Biobank said it had about 300 projects under which researchers in China were accessing “detailed genetic information” or other health data on volunteers.

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Putin and Xi ‘could meet in September’ at summit in Samarkand

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Wall Street Journal suggests Russian and Chinese leaders could hold discussions in Uzbek city

Xi Jinping could meet Vladimir Putin in mid-September at a regional summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, it has been reported.

According to the Wall Street Journal, preparations are being made for the Chinese president to travel to Samarkand on 15 September for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

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Covid outbreak in Tibet leaves thousands of Chinese tourists stranded

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Travellers barred from sightseeing or returning home until confirmed clear of disease as authorities struggle to contain cases

Thousands of Chinese tourists have been left stranded in Tibet as authorities in the region struggle to contain a fresh Covid outbreak.

In recent months, at the same time as many cities went into lockdowns, Chinese tourists have flocked to scenic destinations such as the southern province of Hainan and the western region of Tibet.

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Billionaire Xiao Jianhua jailed for 13 years in China

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Chinese-Canadian’s firm fined record 55.03bn yuan on charges including illegally taking funds from public

Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese-Canadian billionaire at the centre of an alleged abduction scandal in Hong Kong in 2017, has been sentenced by a Shanghai court to 13 years in prison and his company fined a record 55.03bn yuan (£6.8bn).

Xiao, 50, and his Tomorrow Holdings conglomerate were charged with illegally absorbing public deposits, betraying the use of entrusted property, and the illegal use of funds and bribery, the Shanghai first intermediate court said.

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Chinese city dims lights as record heatwave hits energy supplies

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Highs of over 40C in Chengdu dry up hydropower reservoirs and raise demand for air conditioning

A provincial capital in south-west China has dimmed outdoor advertisements, subway lighting and building signs to save energy as the area struggles with a power crunch triggered by record-high temperatures.

Temperatures rose past 40C (104F) in Sichuan province this week, fuelling massive demand for air conditioning and drying up reservoirs in a region reliant on dams for most of its electricity.

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Weather tracker: flash floods as Europe’s heatwave ends with thunderstorms

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Torrential rains hit parts of England, Italy, France and Belgium, while in China flooding leaves 18 dead

Prolonged heat across parts of northern and western Europe ended with torrential showers and thunderstorms this week.

On Wednesday, parts of southern England received 50-65mm of rainfall within a few hours, causing London’s Gatwick airport to delay and cancel dozens of flights.

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Timor-Leste warns it will work with China if Australia insists on pumping Timor Sea gas to Darwin

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Exclusive: President José Ramos-Horta says his country’s leadership ‘has to make decisions … if necessary a trip to China’

Timor-Leste’s president, José Ramos-Horta, has warned his nation will seek Chinese support if Australia and Woodside Energy fail to back a gas pipeline between the resource-rich Timor Sea and his country’s southern shore, rather than Darwin.

Ramos-Horta has warned Timor-Leste – Australia’s neighbour and ally – would “absolutely” look to Chinese investment to secure what he says is the “national strategic goal” of piping gas from the Greater Sunrise fields to his nation’s coast. The comments are likely to heighten concerns about Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

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