Category Archives: China

Xi Jinping says ‘persistence is victory’ as Covid restrictions return to Shanghai and Beijing

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Both cities back on high alert, with new lockdowns in Shanghai , and the shutdown of entertainment venues in Beijing

Xi Jinping has reiterated China’s commitment to zero-Covid, declaring “persistence is victory”, as Shanghai and Beijing were hit with new lockdowns, shutdowns, and mass testing drives just a week after the cities celebrated the easing of restrictions.

In response to China’s worst outbreak of the pandemic, Shanghai spent months under an arduous and strict citywide lockdown, while Beijing authorities imposed localised lockdowns, venue and public transport shutdowns, and work-from-home orders. In the last week both had begun easing restrictions, with authorities praising the containment of the community outbreaks of the Omicron variant.

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‘Ironclad brothers’: what China wants from its role in Cambodia’s biggest naval base

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Analysis: reports the Chinese military will get exclusive use of part of Ream base have been denied, but experts say nature of the arrangement remains unclear

At a ceremony this week, Cambodian and Chinese officials proclaimed their friendship as they announced a new construction project. Holding spades decorated with red bows, they turned over soil to signal the start of building work at Cambodia’s biggest naval base, Ream. It will be expanded and renovated, thanks to a Chinese grant of an undisclosed sum – a development that has alarmed the US.

“China and Cambodia have become ironclad brothers,” said China’s ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wentian, at the ceremony.

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Shanghai to lock down 2.7 million, a week after easing Covid restrictions

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District of Minhang to be closed on Saturday for mass testing, sparking fears the lockdown could be prolonged if cases found

Shanghai will lock down a district of 2.7 million people on Saturday to conduct mass coronavirus testing, city authorities said, as the Chinese metropolis struggles to fully emerge from punishing curbs.

The city eased many restrictions last week, after confining most of its 25 million residents to their homes since March as China battled its worst Covid outbreak in two years.

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Global supply chain crisis fuels push to local manufacturing as China’s appeal dims

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Analysis: US to examine with fresh urgency easing reliance on China as pandemic disruptions expose global economic vulnerabilities

Everyone has a story to tell about the supply chain problems that have affected the global economy, from the beginning of the pandemic through to the disruption caused by the war in Ukraine. From shortages of Ikea furniture and Christmas turkeys, to the dearth of computer chips that sent the cost of secondhand cars soaring, the dislocation of a once smooth-running system has caused havoc in the global economy.

But while predictions about the easing of bottlenecks have come and gone without any improvement, it has become clear the disruptions of the past two years or more are spurring fundamental changes to the world economy that could have yet more profound impacts on our lives.

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China offers citizens cash and ‘spiritual rewards’ for spying tipoffs

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State security ministry trying to motivate the public, says state media, as it claims foreign threats have risen

Chinese citizens can get cash rewards of more than 100,000 yuan (£12,000) and special certificates for providing tipoffs about suspected foreign spies and breaches of national security, under measures introduced by the country’s ministry of state security this week.

Rewards for exposing foreign espionage activities or other security violations have existed for years in China. The new measures, according to a state media outlet, are aimed at standardising rewards and motivating the public at a time of intensifying “threats” from foreign intelligence agencies and other quarters.

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Cambodia and China deny naval base scheme as Australian PM voices concern

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Cambodia says facilities at Ream naval base will not be for exclusive use of Chinese military, while Beijing denounces ‘malicious conjecture’

Chinese and Cambodian officials attended a ceremony for a controversial naval port expansion on Wednesday, dismissing reports that the base will provide a crucial strategic foothold for Beijing.

Officials broke ground at the Ream naval base, turning over shovels of dirt as work commenced on a China-funded renovation of Ream, Cambodia’s biggest naval base.

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China accuses Australia and Canada of ‘disinformation’ over jet encounters

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Beijing warns Australia of ‘serious consequences’ if it does not stop ‘provocations’ after incident Canberra called ‘very dangerous’

Beijing has accused Australia and Canada of “spreading disinformation” over allegedly dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese military pilots in international airspace.

China also warned Australia to stop “provocations” or face “serious consequences” after the Albanese government said a Chinese jet intercepted an RAAF plane in a dangerous manoeuvre in late May.

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Flood alerts issued as more torrential rain forecast to hit China

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At least 15 people were killed last week and new low pressure system across region will bring more disruption

Record-breaking rains that have battered parts of China and east Asia in the last week are expected to worsen, with authorities warning of an increased risk of floods.

In the first week of China’s flood season, extreme rainfalls have caused floods and landslides, destroyed roads and infrastructure, and led to the deaths of at least 15 people. Floods, landslides and disruptions to water and electricity were reported in Shaoguan, in northern Guangdong province, and more than 800,000 people in Jiangxi were reportedly affected by torrential rains that have so far hit 80 of the province’s counties and damaged more than 76,000 hectares (188,000 acres) of cropland.

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Chinese military ‘to have exclusive use of parts of Cambodian naval base’

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Reports of presence at Ream base on Gulf of Thailand would significantly expand its presence in Indo-Pacific

A Cambodian naval base being constructed with the assistance of China will include a portion for the exclusive use of the Chinese military, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The Chinese and Cambodian governments have previously denied reports that Cambodia will allow a Chinese military presence at the Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand.

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Trudeau calls China’s close encounter with Canadian warplanes ‘provocative’

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Canadian planes enforcing UN North Korea sanctions had to avoid colliding with Chinese jets in encounter in international airspace

Justin Trudeau has denounced Beijing’s “irresponsible and provocative” actions after a recent encounter in international airspace over Asia.

The incident, in which Canadian aircraft deployed in Japan encountered, and in some cases had to avoid colliding with, Chinese jets, has again raised tensions between Beijing and Ottawa, just as the crisis over Canada’s 2018 arrest of the Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, began to subside.

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Chinese star taken offline after showing ‘tank cake’ on Tiananmen anniversary

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Li Jiaqi, a blogger with millions of fans, had his livestream abruptly cut on Friday, and has posted nothing since

One of China’s top bloggers has gone silent after livestreaming footage of a cake apparently shaped like a tank just before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, prompting debate over the highly sensitive event among tens of millions of young fans.

Discussion of the crackdown on 4 June 1989, when China set troops and tanks on peaceful protesters, is all but forbidden on the mainland.

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‘A dangerous act’: how a Chinese fighter jet intercepted an RAAF aircraft and what happens next

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Government says PLA J-16 forced Australian P-8 on routine surveillance into a dangerous manoeuvre over South China Sea

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has denounced an incident in which a Chinese fighter plane forced an Australian plane into a dangerous manoeuvre. China’s actions were “an act of aggression and a dangerous act”, Albanese told reporters in Jakarta on Monday evening.

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Ukraine war deepens China’s mistrust of the west

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Analysis: the conflict in Europe has entrenched the differences between Beijing and the US and its allies

More than 100 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s strategic assessment of the conflict is becoming clearer: it does not wish to be cast in the same light as Russia, but the war has deepened Beijing’s mistrust of the west.

In Beijing’s view, the pessimism has been exacerbated by the US and its allies’ recent efforts, for example, to help Taiwan increase its international recognition. On Monday last week, Beijing made the second-largest incursion into Taiwan’s air defence zone this year with Taipei reporting 30 jets entering the area, including more than 20 fighters.

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Anthony Albanese vows to strengthen Australia’s ties on official Indonesia visit

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PM accompanied by senior ministers and business leaders as Labor’s regional diplomatic offensive continues amid growing China assertiveness

Anthony Albanese has declared he wants to strengthen the Australia-Indonesia relationship while deepening ties with south-east Asian nations amid escalating tensions prompted by China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Australia’s prime minister touched down in Jakarta on Sunday night accompanied by senior ministers and a high-powered business delegation to pursue a two-day diplomatic full court press in Indonesia.

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Candles, flags and a howl of pain: Taiwan remembers Tiananmen

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Taipei takes on the role of commemoration from Hong Kong as the only Chinese-speaking country to hold vigils

On a steamy summer’s night several hundred people gathered at the foot of Taipei’s grand Chiang Kai-shek memorial for one of dozens of vigils being held around the world to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

A man walked on to the stage, with the eyes of the crowd upon him, and voiced a timid welcome: “Hello everyone.” Then he began to scream.

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Chinese fighter jet’s actions near Australian aircraft ‘very dangerous’, deputy PM says

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Defence reports J-16 jet released ‘chaff’ including aluminium shards in front of Australian flight in South China Sea region

Australia has complained to China over its interception of a maritime surveillance flight in international airspace in the South China Sea region, which the deputy prime minister labelled “very dangerous”.

The defence department has revealed the interception of a “routine maritime surveillance activity” in a statement on Sunday, claiming it resulted in a “dangerous manoeuvre” that risked the safety of the Australian aircraft and its crew.

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Hundreds gather in Taiwan to mark Tiananmen Square anniversary

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Activists erect new version of commemorative statue that Hong Kong university removed last year

Hundreds of people have gathered in Taipei to commemorate China’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square 33 years ago.

A heavy security presence in Hong Kong prevents any sign of protest in the territory.

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Hong Kong police warn Tiananmen anniversary gatherings will break the law

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Hong Kong has commemorated 1989 crackdown for decades, but national security law imposed in 2020 has put a stop to annual vigils

Hong Kong police have warned that people risk breaking the law if they gather on Saturday to commemorate China’s Tiananmen crackdown - particularly in the city’s Victoria Park, the site of a once annual candlelit vigil.

Discussion of the 4 June 1989 crackdown, when the Chinese government set troops and tanks on peaceful protesters, is forbidden in mainland China. For decades Hong Kong exercised its semi-autonomy and freedom of speech to hold an annual candlelit memorial for the victims. But after the national security law was brought in in 2020, that came to an end.

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Canada accuses Chinese air force of nearly causing collisions

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Ottawa ‘extremely concerned’ at Chinese pilots’ conduct in skies during effort to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea

Canada’s military has accused Chinese air force pilots of unprofessional and risky behaviour during recent encounters with Canadian planes in international airspace.

The Canadian aircraft were deployed in Japan as part of a multinational effort to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea, which has faced international penalties over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programme.

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China’s Wang Yi visits Papua New Guinea amid tensions over election

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Ex-PM Peter O’Neill criticises timing of foreign minister’s visit, saying no agreements should be signed with Beijing before poll

China’s top diplomat has begun his visit to Papua New Guinea in the midst of the island’s national election as Beijing races to salvage a controversial deal in a battle of influence with Australia and other western powers.

The visit of Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, came a few days after a proposed economic and security deal collapsed on Monday. But his visit has also been criticised by the former Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O’Neill, who is campaigning to take back the top job, in a series of media interviews, during which he said no agreements should be signed with China before the national election.

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