Rumors of change in Covid policies; Lockdowns; Two Establishes 两个确立 vs. Two Upholds 两个维护
Summary of today’s Essential Eight:
Covid loosening rumor pops stocks - Stocks popped on a rumor that a new committee has been set up to figure out how to loosen Covid controls by next March. The rumor has not been confirmed, and while logically it makes sense as they have to figure out a way to reduce some of the excesses before people really start to lose it and the economy craters, investors seem to have gotten a bit overexcited.
Covid - Official data show cases surging in Guangzhou, as some form of lockdowns continue in many places throughout the country. The official data show total deaths from Covid since the pandemic started of 5226, a figure that has not changed in months.
Real estate woes - October property sales for top developers dropped 28% year over year. October, with the weeklong holiday starting October 1, was a big property sales month back in the before times. Developers have a lot of debt coming due and without more supportive policies from the government, which I do not think Xi will support since they have already come this far in trying to break the economic reliance on real estate, expect many more defaults.
US chip controls - A document the US Department of Commerce BIS released Friday appears to signal a slight softening of the chip controls.
Competing statements on Xinjiang at the UN - 50 countries signed a statement calling on China to implement the recommendations in the recent UN report on Xinjiang, while 66 countries supported China’s position.
Thanks for reading.
Today’s Essential Eight
1. Covid loosening rumor pops stocks
Stocks popped on a rumor that a new committee has been set up to figure out how to loosen Covid controls by next March. The rumor has not been confirmed, and while logically it makes sense as they have to figure out a way to reduce some of the excesses before people really start to lose it and the economy craters, investors seem to have gotten a bit overexcited.
Chinese Stocks in US Surge on Speculation of End of Covid Zero Policy - Bloomberg
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index of 65 Chinese companies closed up 3.8% in New York, after jumping as much as 7.6% during the session..
Traders latched onto unconfirmed social media posts that China is forming a committee to assess scenarios for relaxing its uncompromising responses to the pandemic, a stance long seen as a key risk for the country’s stocks. The committee has set a target for reopening of March next year, according to the posts. In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he’s “not aware” of any such committee.
The rumor:
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was unaware of the situation following a market rally after social media posts circulated an unverified document that said China was forming a committee to assess border reopening in March.
Comment: Zhao's response does not appear in the official English or Chinese transcripts on the Ministry's website. I wonder why.
2. Covid
Official data show cases surging in Guangzhou, as some form of lockdowns continue in many places throughout the country. The official data show total deaths from Covid since the pandemic started of 5226, a figure that has not changed in months.
Authorities in Guangzhou said they faced a “dire and complicated” outbreak as the number of Covid-19 cases rose sharply in the southern Chinese city.
Authorities have reported more than 100 infections in each of the past four days and nearly 500 in total during the outbreak.
On Tuesday, the city announced it had 190 confirmed local cases and 289 asymptomatic infections, a slight decrease from the day before.
China Covertly Locks Down Cities as Covid Zero Pushback Rises - Bloomberg
Local officials, under pressure to implement President Xi Jinping’s strict Covid Zero policy with less impact on society and the economy, are instead going under the radar, communicating restrictions with businesses directly, or shutting small sections of a city incrementally to avoid the panic of a blanket order. In some cases, residents aren’t even being told, coming home to find they’re locked down...
Wuhan, with 13 million residents, is one of many places where restrictions are being quietly imposed.
Chinese localities step up efforts to curb COVID-19 surge ahead of winter - Global Times
Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based medical expert who closely follows public health issues, told the Global Times on Tuesday that COVID-19 infections in the city were imported through various ways and the local situation is not optimistic.
In order to curb the virus transmission, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport canceled 984 flights on Tuesday, accounting for 76 percent of the total, according to flight information provider Flight Master.
However, the flight cancellation rate is not among the highest at domestic airports. Flight cancellation rates at airports, including in Urumqi, Hohhot and Zhengzhou have reached nearly 100 percent, according to Flight Master.
新疆乌鲁木齐新增本土确诊病例25例 本土无症状感染者329例
Urumqi reports 25 symptomatic and 329 asymptomatic cases even after weeks of lockdowns
新京报 - 北京本土感染者+15 其中社会面5例 防控形势严峻复杂
Beijing finds 5 cases in the community
Zhengzhou city authorities on Tuesday wrote a public letter to all the residents in the city and thanked their efforts in fighting against the virus.
The virus strains in this round of epidemic have greater transmission speed, and are more insidious and infectious, the authorities wrote in the letter. The incubation and the intergenerational period are short, and most of the infectors are asymptomatic carriers. It has brought the risk challenge to the epidemic prevention and control, but the virus is weak, "there are no patients in critical conditions and residents should not be panic," according to the letter.
Chinese city accused of ‘performative lockdown lifting’ | China | The Guardian
Zhengzhou has been the subject of national focus, particularly after hundreds of workers from the iPhone manufacturer Foxconn fled over fences from the factory’s “closed loop” quarantine system last week.
On social media, residents accused authorities of lifting restrictions only to reduce scrutiny of the lockdown’s severity and associated issues. The term “performative lockdown lifting” was widely used on Weibo, but was unsearchable as a hashtag, suggesting it had been blocked.
Shanghai Disney visitors told to stay home after COVID case, Foxconn ups bonuses | Reuters
Several city residents told Reuters they were notified on Tuesday that they or their children could not go to work or school if they had visited Disney since Thursday and were ordered to take daily tests for the next three days.
Yicai - [Exclusive] Foxconn Zhengzhou Employee: Chaos Gradually Easing
At present, the company has changed its approach of nucleic acid testing in groups of 20 and is now testing individually, and positive cases will be transferred to medical isolation sites provided by the local government, thus reducing the number of people who need to be isolated and avoiding chaos...
Foxconn has three plants in Zhengzhou with a total of 90 production lines and about 350,000 employees, making it the world's largest iPhone assembly center. Among them, the Airport Economy Zone plant where this outbreak occurred has over 200,000 employees, Yicai Global learned.
To bring forward a worker’s perspective on why and how they fled, we have translated a worker’s account of her experience.
Foxconn Denies Claims on Social Media of Several Deaths at Its China’s Factory - Bloomberg
The video, posted by a well-known Chinese dissident on Twitter, described the deaths of eight Foxconn workers inside a company-operated dormitory. The clip had attracted more than 27,000 views as of Tuesday afternoon. Similar posts circulated on Chinese social media including Douyin, the local equivalent of TikTok.
3. Real estate woes
October property sales for top developers dropped 28% year over year. October, with the weeklong holiday starting October 1, was a big property sales month back in the before times. Developers have a lot of debt coming due and without more supportive policies from the government, which I do not think Xi will support since they have already come this far in trying to break the economic reliance on real estate, expect many more defaults.
Yicai - Sales at China’s Top 100 Property Developers Sink Record 28% in October
Property sales at the China’s top 100 developers plunged more than 28 percent year on year during the last two months, the traditional peak season, according to data released by market agency China Real Estate Information (CRIC) yesterday...
By October, New home prices in 100 cities has dropped for four straight months, while second-hand home prices has also plunged for six months in a row, according to the China Real Estate Index System’s China Residential House Price Index HPI-100. New home prices in 54 cities and second-hand home prices in 75 cities declined in October from September.
But several industry insiders told Yicai Global that It is impossible to stimulate the market significantly again by promotions alone, as real demand is shrinking.
Chinese Property Bonds Set Record Lows as Investors Lose Faith - WSJ $$
The dollar bond prices of real-estate companies in China have plummeted to new lows, with some trading below 10 cents on the dollar....
“Everyone is scared,” said Kenny Chung, executive director and portfolio manager of fixed-income hedge-fund manager Astera Capital Partners. He said that even though dollar bonds from Chinese property companies are cheap, “there is nothing positive to bet on yet.”
China Property Developers Have $292 Billion of Debt Coming Due Through 2023 - Bloomberg
There’s $53.7 billion borrowings still due the rest of 2022, followed by $72.3 billion of maturities in the first quarter of next year. The figures include onshore and offshore bonds and loans as well as domestic trust loans according to data compiled by Bloomberg and research firm Use Trust.
China Evergrande unit gets notice for $4.48 bln loan from Shengjing Bank | Reuters
The bank said it failed to recover funds totalling 32.595 billion yuan ($4.48 billion), which was provided to the unit from 2020 to 2021, according to Evergrande.
Debt Woes Grow for Chinese Developers CIFI, Greenland - Caixin
Hong Kong-listed private developer CIFI Holdings Group Co. Ltd. said Tuesday it has suspended all principal and interest payments on about $6.85 billion in offshore debts. The firm hinted that it may seek debt restructuring, saying it would “explore a holistic solution” to the credit crisis.
4. US chip controls
A document the US Department of Commerce BIS released Friday appears to signal a slight softening of the chip controls.
US Ban on Americans Aiding China Chip Firms Narrower Than Feared - Bloomberg
The rules seem to be mostly targeting US persons working in certain functions for semiconductor manufacturing equipment firms, based on a document the Bureau of Industry and Security published last Friday to clarify export control measures announced on Oct. 7.
The FAQ for interim rules in PDF.
A Chinese entity on a trade watch list, or an unverified list, will be added to a trade sanctions list, or the entity list, if it fails to complete an end-user check within 60 days because of a lack of cooperation by the host government, according to the export control regulations issued by the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on October 7. The bureau conducts end-use checks to verify the bona fides of companies on these lists.
The tweak that directly links the two lists has added pressure on the Chinese companies and authorities to respond. The change has had an impact, as the BIS delegates at the US embassy in Beijing have suddenly become busy, according to a source, who declined to be identified as the matter is private.
U.S. pushes Japan and other allies to join China chip curbs - Nikkei Asia
Tokyo has begun internal discussions on the issue at Washington's request, a Japanese government insider said. Officials are weighing which restrictions can be adopted in Japan, and will watch how other U.S. allies such as the European Union and South Korea respond.
5. Competing statements on Xinjiang at the UN
50 countries signed a statement calling on China to implement the recommendations in the recent UN report on Xinjiang, while 66 countries supported China’s position.
50 countries urge China to release detained Uyghurs | AP News
Fifty mainly Western countries urged China on Monday to fully implement all recommendations in a U.N. report accusing the country of possible “crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, including taking prompt steps to release all those “arbitrarily deprived of their liberty” in the far western province of Xinjiang...
The 50 countries that signed on to the statement were: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Eswatini, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
In view of the gravity of the OHCHR assessment, we are concerned that China has so far refused to discuss its findings. In that context, we urge the Government of China to uphold its international human rights obligations and to fully implement the recommendations of the OHCHR assessment. This includes taking prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in Xinjiang, and to urgently clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing family members and facilitate safe contact and reunion.
"No matter how the US and a handful of other Western countries package their anti-China joint statement, the malicious political intentions contained therein cannot be kept under wraps, and their machinations are doomed to failure," Dai Bing, the charge d'affaires at the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations, refuted on Monday the attacks against China by the US, Canada and a few other countries at the Third Committee of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly...
On behalf of 66 countries, Cuba delivered a joint statement in resolute support of China, stressing that Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet related issues are China's internal affairs, and opposed politicization of human rights and double standards, or interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights.
Saudi Arabia on behalf of six Gulf states, Yemen and Libya, Venezuela on behalf of 19 member states of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, and many other countries in their national statements spoke in support of China, forming a strong momentum in support of China.
6. Security system on the spirit of the 20th Party Congress
Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong chairs a teleconference for public security cadres to discuss the spirit if the 20th Party Congress - 深入学习宣传贯彻党的二十大精神 在新征程上展现公安机关新担当新作为--法治网
An excerpt:
We should unify our understanding of the decisive significance of "two establishes", deeply understand that the "two establishes" is a great political achievement made by the party in the new era, a decisive factor to promote the historic achievements and changes of the cause of the party and the state, is the greatest certainty, the greatest confidence and the greatest guarantee to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and deal with all uncertainties, and effectively transform the profound understanding of the decisive significance of "two establishes" into faithful practice of "two upholds"
要统一对“两个确立”决定性意义的认识，深刻认识“两个确立”是党在新时代取得的重大政治成果，是推动党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革的决定性因素，是战胜一切艰难险阻、应对一切不确定性的最大确定性、最大底气、最大保证，切实把对“两个确立”决定性意义的深刻理解转化为忠实践行“两个维护”的具体行动
Question: The “two upholds” was written into the new Party Constitution but the "two establishes" was not, as I and some others expected. Did we get it backwards, in that the "two upholds" is above the "two establishes" and so getting that phrase into the Party Constitution was more important for Xi than getting the "two establishes" in?
CCTV on Chen Wenqing overseeing a central political and legal affairs commission on studying the spirit of the 20th Party Congress - 陈文清主持召开中央政法委员会全体会议 认真学习宣传贯彻党的二十大精神 为全面建设社会主义现代化国家贡献政法力量 Interesting to see the attendees, but mostly included because of the table and the map
7. Hong Kong trials
Two former editors of the now-defunct Stand News portal conspired to use the popular site as a political platform beautifying “criminals” and promoting their “illegal” ideologies, prosecutors have argued in the media outlet’s sedition trial.
In a strongly-worded opening statement in the District Court on Tuesday, prosecutors accused the online news service and the two editors of publishing 17 seditious articles to support “forces opposing China and disrupting Hong Kong”, glorify their so-called acts of resistance, and disparage Beijing, the local administration and the national security law.
The high-profile national security trial of 18 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures who have pleaded not guilty to alleged conspiracy to commit subversion is expected to begin after Lunar New Year, almost two years after they were charged, a court has said…
Judge Andrew Chan responded by saying the trial could commence next year after the Lunar New Year, which falls from January 22 to 25, if all parties were ready, with prosecutors estimating that it would last for 55 days. The case, the city’s largest national security one to date which has been widely reported by local and international media, would hopefully conclude before next summer, the judge added.
8. September China discoure report
China’s Political Discourse September 2022: We are all on that bus - China Media Project
one of the most impactful and symbolic stories in September 2022 was the deadly overturning of a transport bus in Guizhou province carrying positive Covid cases to quarantine facilities outside the capital city in the dead of night. The crash, which killed 27 people, was understood by many Chinese commenting online as one of the bloodiest and most tragic outcomes of the “at all costs” (不惜一切代价) approach to be resolutely followed nationwide under the leadership’s zero Covid policy.
As the nation chattered across social media about the specific policies and measures implemented in Guizhou that had contributed to the fatal crash, the overturning of the transport bus became a symbol of tragedies that now seem unavoidable to many in the face of uncompromising politics. The Guizhou bus crash, a fitting prelude to the institutional risks on display at the recent 20th Congress, provides the focus of this month’s discourse summary.
Business, Economy and Trade
China’s Manufacturing Contracts for Third Straight Month, Caixin PMI Shows - Caixin
The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gives an independent snapshot of the country’s manufacturing sector, came in at 49.2 in October, up from 48.1 the previous month...
A breakdown of the survey shows that manufacturing supply, demand and employment all shrank in October.
Both output and total new orders saw further declines, though at a slower pace, as Covid controls dragged on business activity and consumer demand. Overseas demand also continued to weaken, albeit at a slower pace.
Employment fell for the seventh month in a row, as some enterprises invested in greater automation and cut headcounts to reduce costs.
Yicai - Shenzhen to Spearhead Financial, Tax Reform in China Shenzhen will set up a modern financial and taxation system that will be a demonstration area adapted to socialism with Chinese characteristics, the ministry [of Finance] said, citing a document also released yesterday. Once tested, the reforms will then be rolled out to other cities...Which taxes will be targeted in the reform is not specified in the document, said Lin Jiang, professor at the department of economics at Sun Yat-sen University’s Lingnan College. A real estate tax, closely watched by apartment owners, cannot be ruled out. The ministry will also support the Shenzhen administration to raise the debt ceiling in order to focus on stabilizing local investments, the document said. // 关于支持深圳探索创新财政政策体系与管理体制的实施意见
Yicai - Shanghai Is Close to Wrap Up CIIE Preparations Nearly 950 hotels with 163,200 rooms will be available for CIIE visitors. There will be 44 fixed food and beverage shops at the exhibition area, two temporary ones, and seven mobile dining vehicles. They can serve 97,700 people at lunchtime, for a total of 140,000 per day.
Naspers Denies Report It’s Selling Its Tencent Stake to Citic - Caixin South African media giant Naspers Ltd. and its tech investment arm Prosus NV Tuesday rejected media reports that they are in talks to offload their 28% stake in Tencent Holdings to Chinese state-backed investors. Speculation about such a sale swirled after Asian Tech Press reported Monday that a group led by China’s state-owned conglomerate Citic Group was in talks to buy all of Naspers’ holdings in Tencent, the owner of WeChat. Naspers is Tencent’s largest shareholder.
Foxconn quadruples daily cash bonus for assembly line personnel in world’s largest iPhone factory after exodus of workers | South China Morning Post Workers under Foxconn’s integrated Digital Product Business Group, the division responsible for iPhone assembly, can also receive up to 5,000 yuan in additional incentives, based on the total number of days in a month that they show up at the Zhengzhou plant, according to the company’s statement posted on its official WeChat account on Tuesday. It said a worker can earn more than 15,000 yuan in extra pay for a full month’s attendance.
China Cracks Down on Rampant Celebrity Endorsements - Caixin Chinese regulators banned the use of celebrities to endorse tobacco products including e-cigarettes, off-campus tutoring, health care, medicine, medical instruments, health foods and formula food for special medical purposes...In addition to direct appearances in commercials, celebrities are not allowed to promote products in movies, TV shows, interviews or livestreaming. The guidelines observe that some stars endorse products illegally and even promote false ideology, and some enterprises use immoral stars as brand ambassadors.
11组项目集中签约 央地专业化整合“四路加力” _ 经济参考网 _ 新华社《经济参考报》官方网站 A number of state-owned enterprises said they would work together in areas including electricity supply and aerospace smart technologies, among other sectors, in what they call a push for “专业化整合specialized integration.” It is part of a broader plan to deepen state-owned enterprise reforms. Weng Jieming, Vice Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said more cooperation among state firms will be expected and that such firms will play a more prominent role in the economy, especially in sectors of strategic importance.
China revives state sales, marketing co-ops as emergency logistics system: analysts — Radio Free Asia A senior Chinese media executive who declined to be named for fear of reprisals said the supply and marketing co-op system, which used to run general stores in rural areas as late as the 1980s, was never abolished, even though the market economics instigated by late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 eventually replaced it with commercial supply chains and distribution networks. He said he expects the government to use it as a fall-back logistics and supply system to ensure emergency preparedness and food security in the event of worsening relations and further economic decoupling with the rest of the world.
China's upcoming import expo attracts 145 countries, regions, int'l organs-Xinhua Representatives from a total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations will participate in the upcoming fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, the organizer said on Tuesday...The fifth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10
US companies’ attendance at the 5th CIIE in Shanghai to lead other delegations: USCBC - Global Times US companies' attendance at the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's largest import trade fair to be held in Shanghai later this week, will continue to lead other delegations despite the geopolitical tensions, the US-China Business Council (USCBC) told the Global Times on Monday.
Caixin In Depth: Yuan Gets More International Love as Dollar Rivalry Grows The currency is increasingly being used to settle trade with Russia as Moscow seeks to bypass Western sanctions aimed at cutting it off from the global financial system. State energy titans Gazprom PJSC and China National Petroleum Corp. signed a deal in September under which China would begin to pay for Russian natural gas supplies exclusively in yuan and rubles, instead of U.S. dollars. Saudi Arabia, which sold 26% of its crude oil exports to China in the past three years, is reportedly considering pricing some of its contracts in yuan, and Iran has been accepting payment from China for its oil in yuan since 2012. This year some Indian companies have started paying for coal imports in yuan rather than U.S. dollars.
Warburg Pincus Cuts Seven China Dealmakers After Slowdown - Bloomberg Warburg Pincus LLC is cutting about seven China dealmakers as the private-equity firm weighs scaling back consumer Internet investments, joining other finance firms in reducing staff as markets tumble and the world’s second-largest economy struggles to expand
China Merchants Group Exploring Takeover Bid for Bain’s Chindata, Sources Say - Bloomberg China Merchants Group Ltd. is exploring a takeover offer for Chinese data center operator Chindata Group Holdings Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
Politics and Law
中央党校（国家行政学院）举行2022年秋季学期第一批进修班毕业典礼--新闻报道-中国共产党新闻网 Still no new head of the Organization Department. Chen Xi is still in charge per this report on the graduation ceremony of a group of students from the Central Party School 中央组织部部长、中央党校（国家行政学院）校长（院长）陈希出席毕业典礼，并为学员颁发毕业证书。
Intelligence Matters: Implications of Xi Jinping's Hold on Power: Former Senior CIA China Analyst Chris Johnson on Apple Podcasts Michael Morell speaks with former senior CIA China analyst Chris Johnson, now President and CEO of the China Strategies Group, to discuss Xi cementing his power at the Communist Party congress, the line-up of the all-powerful Politburo, and what it means for the state of play of U.S.-China relations. Morell and Johnson discuss the implications on foreign policy of the new Politburo and the keeping of China's foreign minister.
China's political advisors discuss study of key Party congress-Xinhua Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended the opening meeting of the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. At the meeting, Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, presented a report regarding the congress and its guiding principles.
Foreign and Defense Affairs
Chinese envoy urges removal of obstacles to Russia's grain, fertilizer exports - Xinhua "The countries concerned must face up to and eliminate the negative impact of the all-round, non-discriminated sanctions on normal international trade, take concrete measures to solve the real obstacles facing Russia's grain and fertilizer exports," Geng [Shuang] said. He urged relevant countries to completely abandon the wrong approach of politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade issues. "Dialogue and negotiation are the only realistic way out of the Ukraine crisis. Cold War mentality, bloc politics, division and confrontation, isolation and suppression will not bring peace," said Geng
Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu meets with new Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, vowing to push bilateral relations to a new level for a new era - Global Times Ma said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, China-Russia relations have maintained a positive momentum of development, and comprehensive strategic coordination has been operating at a high level, setting a good example of contemporary major-country relations.
Germany struggles with its dependency on China | Financial Times The man who ensured its safe passage through the German cabinet was Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He insisted on a compromise — Cosco would have to make do with a 25 per cent stake, rather than the 35 per cent that was initially proposed. But the German foreign ministry remained opposed, even after Scholz pushed it through. State secretary Susanne Baumann wrote an angry letter to Scholz’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schmidt, saying the transaction “disproportionately increases China’s strategic influence over German and European transport infrastructure and Germany’s dependence on China”...
EU industry chief issues China warning ahead of Scholz's Beijing visit | Reuters The European Union's industry chief said on Monday that European governments and companies must realise China is a rival to the EU and they should not be naive whenever they approve Chinese investment. European Commissioner Thierry Breton's comments appeared to be aimed in part at Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Beijing on Friday.
Germany’s Baerbock warns Scholz ahead of his China trip – POLITICO “The Federal Chancellor has decided the time of his trip,” Baerbock, from the Greens, said today during a visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. “Now it is crucial to make clear in China the messages that we laid down together in the coalition agreement,” she said, according to Der Spiegel newspaper.
Germany stresses increasing defense role in Indo-Pacific | AP News German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday stressed his country’s increased defense cooperation with Japan and other democracies in the Indo-Pacific region faced with security challenges such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s rise. Steinmeier, after holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, told a joint news conference that Germany and other countries “committed to freedom and democracy are standing up together and sending signals that they want to stick to the international rules-based order.”
Chinese FM holds phone talks with French counterpart-Xinhua
He said China and France should jointly plan and design high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields between the two countries, so as to open up new prospects for bilateral relations.
For her part, Colonna said France and China have always maintained mutual trust and cooperation to jointly safeguard world peace and stability.
France hopes to have closer high-level exchanges and in-depth communication with China to enhance common interests and tackle common challenges, she said.
The two sides also exchanged views on Ukraine, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of common concern
The French Foreign Minister tweeted that it was a "constructive conversation...We must act together to seek to end the Russian escalation in #Ukraine...Our bilateral exchanges 🇫🇷 🇨🇳 will intensify.":
Chinese Vice Premier kicks off visit to Singapore for key in-person meetings for 1st time in 3 years - Global Times Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng kicked off his two-day visit to Singapore on Tuesday and will co-chair with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat several in-person meetings held for the first time in three years. Experts said the two sides are likely to engage in deep discussions on how to promote economic and trade cooperation in the next 10 years after China has mapped out its development plan following the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Pakistani PM embarks on 1st official visit to China since taking office, deepening iron-clad friendship and revitalizing flagship projects - Global Times Some media such as Nikkei also reported that Sharif will likely seek $10 billion in financial assistance from China, through balance of payment support and rolling over Chinese loans, which make up 30 percent of Pakistan's total external debt. "As far as the media concern especially the Western media it's all false," Ejaz Akram, a Pakistani scholar, also professor of Religion & World Politics in Southwestern University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
China calls for safeguarding industrial chain stability, resilience among SCO members - Global Times The 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place on Tuesday, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosting the meeting in Beijing via video link.
关于进一步加强和深化中越全面战略合作伙伴关系的联合声明 — 中华人民共和国外交部 PRC-Vietnam joint declaration on strengthening and deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative relations
Chinese company hands over Nigeria's first deep sea port - Xinhua The port will meet the needs of Nigeria's economic development, said Cui Jianchun, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, in an interview with Xinhua at the handing-over ceremony held in Lagos. As a commercial project of tripartite cooperation between China, France and Nigeria, Lekki port is of great significance for promoting the Belt and Road cooperation in Africa, said the ambassador.
Secret Chinese ‘police stations’ to be investigated around Britain – POLITICO Speaking in the House of Commons Tuesday, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said such activities “must be stopped,” stressing it would be “unacceptable” for any foreign government to attempt to operate a security apparatus upon U.K. shores.
Ukraine war: Chinese knock-off parts used in Russia’s Iran-made suicide drones, report says | South China Morning Post The Shahed-136’s engine, for example, appears to be built by a Beijing firm copying a German design, researchers say It extent of China’s involvement in Iran’s drone manufacturing is not clear; Western parts have also been found in the weapons
US and China continue to seek an in-person meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping | South China Morning Post “Our two staffs are still working out the modalities of a potential meeting between [Biden and Xi],” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a briefing. “I don’t have one to announce today, but there’s still some staff-level work going on to see if that if that can if that can be brought about.”
US' new national defense strategy report sends multiple messages - Zhang Jiadong
简而言之，从这份国防战略报告可以看出，美军目前没有在短期内从事大规模战争的战略预期。华盛顿认为，来自俄罗斯的威胁“迫切但不重大”，来自中国的挑战是“重大但不迫切”。美国对华战略仍然是不回避竞争与对抗，但努力避免直接军事冲突。在中美关系中，不寻求直接军事冲突的战略底线仍然存在，基本的战略互信并未消失。
To sum up, the new NDS shows that the US military doesn’t expect a large-scale war in the short term. Washington thinks the threat from Russia is acute but not substantial, whereas the challenge from China is substantial but not acute. Its China strategy remains one that doesn’t avoid competition or confrontation but would make every effort to avoid a direct military conflict – that strategic bottom line persists in the China-US relations, implying that basic strategic mutual trust between the two countries hasn’t completely vanished.
但是，美国也进一步明确了对华战略的目标，那就是要努力阻止中国在关键领域取得优势，其中最主要的就是高科技创新能力和关键产业链安全保障能力的竞争。
Yet Washington also clarifies its goal with China – to stop China from obtaining superiority in any key area by all means, first and foremost the capability of high-tech innovation and of securing key industry chains.
（作者是复旦大学美国研究中心教授）
(The author is a professor at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University)
How China’s state security controls its narrative in the West | Live with Lizzi Lee – The China Project Alex Joske talks about his book, Spies and Lies, which goes behind the veil of China’s Ministry of State Security to reveal how agents of the CCP have spent decades manipulating the West’s attitudes about China’s rise.
Chinese premier meets with Vietnam's communist party chief-Xinhua Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee on Tuesday in Beijing...On China-ASEAN relations, Li said China stands ready to work with ASEAN countries to consolidate traditional friendship, promote cooperation in areas across the board to yield more achievements, and jointly maintain the peace and stability of the South China Sea, so as to create an enabling environment for their respective development and bring more benefits to the people of the region.
Caixin - Xi Pledges Supply Chain Stability With Vietnam After talks concluded, both sides signed agreements to cooperate in areas including the economy, environmental protection, and legal matters. Since the two countries first established bilateral diplomatic ties in 1950, China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for more than 15 consecutive years while Vietnam became China’s largest trading partner among the ASEAN members in 2016, according to a state media report. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume reached $230 billion, up 19.7% compared to 2020. Chinese exports to Vietnam were mainly textiles, machinery, and electrical products, while Vietnam’s exports to China were mineral resources and agricultural products
Twitter takes down 3 China-based networks trying to influence midterms - The Washington Post Twitter has disrupted three China-based operations that were covertly trying to influence American politics in the months leading up the midterm elections by amplifying politically polarizing topics, according to a trove of data released by the social media giant to researchers and The Washington Post.
Taiwan
EU lawmakers sanctioned by Beijing are due to visit Taiwan – POLITICO Trade, investment and technology are the focus for the delegation, which includes Reinhard Bütikofer, chair of the European Parliament's delegation on relations with China, as well as Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, a Dutch lawmaker. Both of them have been on Beijing's blacklist since early last year.
Tech and Media
五部门：到2026年，虚拟现实在重要行业领域规模化应用_10%公司_澎湃新闻-The Paper Five ministries have unveiled an action plan on virtual reality on Nov 1, which aims to deepen its application in areas including industrial production, media, education, sports, entertainment, public safety and smart urbanization.
China aims to ship 25 million virtual reality devices by 2026 | Reuters China released its first action plan dedicated to virtual reality on Tuesday, with an aim its industry ship more than 25 million devices with a value exceeding 350 billion yuan ($48.20 billion) by 2026. //Comment: And none will be from Meta...
Local Govt as Venture Capital - Pekingnology Some Chinese cities sent officials to Hefei to find out why. Visitors from the municipal authorities of Luoyang, a city in nearby Henan province, wrote a report examining how Hefei succeeded and what lessons can be learned from Hefei. Below is an abridged translation of the report
Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History
被爆移民美国冯小刚急否认：国家有恩于我 | 早报 Film Director Feng Xiaogang and his wife Xu Fan were spotted at their $15m+ Los Angeles home, he denies they have emigrated from the PRC, says they are there until the end of year to drop their daughter off at college.
Comment: These comments by Feng from a few years ago saying another Cultural Revolution as possible under Xi have some wondering if he is really going back to the PRC:
Energy, Environment, Science and Health
关于进一步做好原料用能不纳入能源消费总量控制有关工作的通知 An informative thread from an export on this notice from the National Energy Administration
Ministries warn of drought, other natural disaster risks for November - Global Times according to an official notice published by the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) on Tuesday...The drought in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin is expected to continue in November, after an unprecedented summer drought hit the southern part of the country, according to the MEM notice about a recent multi-agency meeting on the natural disaster risk situation for November.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq Boost Oil Flows to China: Tanker Tracker - Bloomberg The Middle East producers loaded almost 4 million barrels a day of crude for Chinese buyers in October. With some tankers yet to reveal their destinations, it’s possible the final figure will be revised up.
Yicai - Northeast China’s First Nuclear Heating Project Starts Up Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power station in northeast China and also the largest investment in power in the region. It has the most installed capacity of any nuclear power plant in China, generating 48 gigawatt hours a year, around 20 percent of Liaoning province’s energy needs.
生物学家颜宁将回国 知情人士：酝酿了很久，重点做医疗科技基础研究 |普林斯顿大学|科学|教授|院士_网易订阅 Princeton Biology professor Nieng Yan announces she has resigned and is returning to PRC. Her bio on the Princeton site