One of those days, not feeling like I have much insightful to say up top so I will not waste your time...

For readers in DC, Leta Hong Fincher is doing an event tomorrow, Thursday, at CSIS for her new book Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China.

For those of you interested in the S&P report about China's hidden debt that got so much attention yesterday, you can read the full report here.

Thanks for reading.

View comments

The Essential Eight

1. US-China

US trade talks with China on 'hiatus,' Commerce Secretary Ross says - CNBC:

American and Chinese officials have suggested that the leaders of the two countries may be able to advance talks at the upcoming G-20 summit in Argentina. Asked about that possibility, Ross suggested it was unlikely that much would be accomplished there.

Comment: Have the Chinese made a revised offer that the US still thinks is not enough?

Trump Opens New Front in His Battle With China: International Shipping - The New York Times:

President Trump plans to withdraw from a 144-year-old postal treaty that has allowed Chinese companies to ship small packages to the United States at a steeply discounted rate, undercutting American competitors and flooding the market with cheap consumer goods....
While the lower rates were intended to foster development in Asia and Africa, Chinese companies now make up about 60 percent of packages shipped into the country, taking advantage of the lower rates to ship clothing, household gadgets and consumer electronics. Many websites now offer free shipping from China, in part because of the cheap postal rates, administration officials say.

The Best Way Trump Can Squeeze China on Trade - Bloomberg:

If Trump cuts the U.S. off from trade with China, the likeliest outcome is that China simply steps up its exports to other markets. That would bind the rest of the world more closely to China and weaken the global influence of the U.S. China’s economy would take a small but temporary hit, while the U.S. would see its position as the economic center of the world slip into memory.
Instead, to take on China, Trump needs a gang. And that gang has to be much bigger than just North America. But most countries in Europe and East Asia probably can’t be bullied into choosing between the U.S. and China. -- their ties to the U.S. are not as strong as those of Mexico and Canada. Countries such as South Korea, Germany, India and Japan will need carrots as well as sticks if they’re going to join a U.S.-led united trade front against China.
President Barack Obama had an idea of how to provide those carrots. He attempted to involve the U.S. in two broad regional trade agreements -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Asia, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in Europe

Maybe Amb. Lighthizer gets it? - USTR - Trump Administration Announces Intent to Negotiate Trade Agreements with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom

U.S., China Clash Over How to Solve ‘Existential’ Trade Threat - Bloomberg:

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Dennis Shea said the World Trade Organization must confront China’s trade abuses while rethinking its preferential rights as a developing nation. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xiangchen countered that “no one can be singled out” and that Beijing will not back any effort to undermine the WTO’s basic principles...
The WTO’s core agreements offer China and other members -- generally those who are poorer or have recently joined the WTO -- special rights that include exemptions, longer implementation periods and technical assistance. Despite being the world’s second-largest economy, China still considers itself a developing country and benefits from more lenient WTO restrictions on its ability to subsidize farmers, for example.

Do the Chinese regret cancelling the security and diplomatic dialogue in a fit of pique over the sanctions on the PLA? - Mattis to meet Chinese counterpart amid US-China tensions - AP:

Mattis and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe were in Singapore for a regional meeting of defense ministers. Mattis visited China in June, but since then a series of events have escalated tensions.

The assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, Randall Schriver, told reporters the Chinese had requested the Singapore meeting. In late September, China told the Pentagon that Wei would be unavailable to meet Mattis in Beijing, so that visit was canceled.

Meanwhile, Beijing is ramping up the propaganda offensive about the trade war--Chinese Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily counters ‘pessimistic’ views on trade war impact | South China Morning Post:

The Chinese government press sought to combat reports of rising domestic pessimism about the country’s trade war with the United States on Wednesday, telling readers the conflict would have little impact on the nation’s current or future prospects.
In its lead editorial People’s Daily argued the trade war’s impact on China was limited, the country’s rise did not depend on the US, and that China was a “super large” country that could thrive on its own.
Readers were urged not to lose faith in the country’s prospects...
According to Wednesday’s People’s Daily editorial, the ongoing trade war will not cause China’s growth to “fall off a cliff.” Rather, the impact on the economy will remain within “a controllable range”.
“An important reason on which some people base their pessimistic arguments is that they wrongly regard China’s opening to the outside world as opening [only] to the US, so they exaggerate the power of a China-US trade war,” it argued.

The original - 人民日报：贸易战悲观论调不靠谱 by the pseudonym 任平:

最近，中美之间贸易摩擦和争端不断升级，中国有理有利有节的反制，有力维护了自由贸易和多边主义，赢得了世界上越来越多国家的认同。与此同时，国内也出现了一些悲观论调，认为我们打不赢、打不起，经济增长会出现断崖式下滑，有的甚至把贸易战的影响上升到“国运”的高度，认为贸易战会遏制中国几十年来的发展态势。然而，这样的悲观论调靠谱吗？

The Wednesday People's Daily also had a commentary by 任理轩, the pseudonym for the People's Daily Theory Propaganda Department, on how backing away from globalization goes against the tide of the new era - 人民要论：逆全球化违背时代潮流

9 fallacies US makes on China - People's Daily Online - Zhong Sheng:

The President and Vice President of the US recently on many occasions claimed that China interfered with the US election, making groundless accusations on China's domestic and diplomatic policies. The arguments of the US featuring Cold War and zero-sum mentalities distort facts and lack logic.

The propaganda folks seem to be pulling almost all all the pen names of the shelf...

Top Chinese and American Experts Discuss China-U.S. Relations at Harvard Forum:

On Monday, leading Chinese and American experts engaged in a lively forum on "China's Economic Development and China-U.S. Relations" at Harvard University's famed Loeb House, organized by the China Institute of Fudan University.

Spotlight: Top U.S., Chinese experts urge joint efforts to maintain bilateral cooperative ties - Xinhua:

Zhang Weiwei, professor of international relations at Fudan University, believed that China and the United States can achieve enhanced cooperation and win-win results for the benefit of the people in both countries and in the world at large should the two sides end their misperceptions on issues concerning the bilateral relationship.
"China's mentality is more about win-win than zero-sum," Zhang said. "We have every opportunity now to embrace mutually assured prosperity, given that the United States and China are now the two largest countries, and there are 14,000 people traveling each day between the two countries. So we are closely connected."
China proposes to build a shared future for mankind and advocates that all countries can learn from different development models, said the professor who penned the best-selling and award-winning "China Trilogy"("The China Ripple," "The China Wave" and "The China Horizon").

2. PRC approach to European diplomacy

China’s new diplomacy in Europe has a name: broken porcelain | David Bandurski | Opinion | The Guardian:

Two days after Sweden’s election in September, a bizarre statement appeared in English on the website of the Chinese embassy in Stockholm. A “small handful of Swedish forces, media and individuals”, it said, had made “unwarranted claims” of Chinese interference in the Swedish vote. These were “groundless accusations”, and a “malicious attack and smear against China”. The strangest thing of all: no one in Sweden had the slightest inkling what the statement referred to.
As an expert on China’s official discourse who also studies its influence in Europe, I too struggled to make sense of this storm in a teapot – until a few days later, when a new tempest whirled into view. This time, Sweden noticed. The source of the fresh controversy was an online video that purported to show the “brutal treatment” of three Chinese tourists at a hotel in Stockholm. As I read the angry comments from China’s foreign ministry, it suddenly all made perfect sense. The expressions of outrage were part of a concerted diplomatic strategy of hyperbole and distraction...
That message is a solemn promise to government and society in Europe and beyond: wherever you seek to criticise our policies or forestall our ambitions, we will topple your agenda. We will shatter the porcelain of diplomatic composure and fan the anger of our population with debased facts until every issue you raise is about just one issue – China’s national dignity.

And at least in the case of Norway it seems to have worked-Visit gives new push to Norway relations - China Daily:

President Xi Jinping and visiting King Harald V of Norway witnessed the signing of the agreements after talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. A welcoming ceremony was held before the talks. The two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to inject fresh vitality into the development of relations and write a new chapter in the traditional friendship between the two countries...
Accompanying them on the visit is a Norwegian business delegation of around 340 people representing 140 companies — the largest business delegation ever from Norway to China, according to the Norwegian embassy.
King Harald said his visit indicates that the nations' ties have gotten back on the right track and are displaying strong vitality. There is great potential for them to develop cooperation, he added.

Italy charts risky course with China-friendly policy | Mercator Institute for China Studies:

Italy’s right-wing populist government has embarked on a course of all-out cooperation with China, presenting it to the Italian public as an alternative, while alienating European partners. Ultimately, a more active China policy that lacks balanced assessments is setting Italy on a risky route.

3. New report on China and the developing world

At the Dawn of Belt and Road: China in the Developing World | RAND:

The authors analyze China's political and diplomatic, economic, and military engagement with the Developing World, region by region, focusing on the 21st century through the beginning of the Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious vision that builds on China's previous activities. The authors discuss specific countries in each region — so-called pivotal states — that are most important to China. The authors show that China has oriented its security concerns and its overall engagement in concentric circles of importance. Near neighbors merit the most attention. The authors conclude with policy implications for the United States.

4. "Competitive neutrality" has to be more than just a slogan

Stage Set for Clash Over China’s Subsidies for State Firms - Caixin

The B-20 communiqué and SASAC’s response “sets the stage for a showdown” over China’s support for SOEs at the G-20 meeting, said Harish Natarajan, head economist at risk consultancy AKE International. “The Trump administration’s tough stance on China, coupled with concerns over the Belt and Road Initiative saddling developing countries with high levels of debt, and Chinese SOEs ability to muscle in on deals that private companies can’t afford has led to an atmosphere of rising concern, of which the B-20’s communiqué is an expression,” he said...
Beijing continues to tout SOE reform as a key objective, promoting innovations such as allowing private companies to enter into strategic alliances with the state-owned sector. Yet while Peng also spoke several times of the importance of reforms without providing specifics, he also spoke of strengthening the Communist Party’s role in their management, saying: “In the next step, SASAC and the central SOEs will be more closely united around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core.” It is a message likely to be interpreted as being at odds with the claims of them being market-led.

5. Hong Kong media gets a lesson from Beijing

Things got a little messy in the readout from the meeting between Huang Kunming and the delegation of Hong Kong media execs--Don’t let Hong Kong be turned into base for interfering with mainland, Communist Party propaganda head tells media chiefs | South China Morning Post:

The message was relayed by Sing Tao News Corporation executive director Siu Sai-wo, who led the group, in a late-night clarification after some local media reports on the subject were retracted...
"[Huang] hoped Hong Kong media would not turn the city into a base for interfering in mainland politics,” Siu said when asked by Hong Kong media if a recent incident involving the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in the city had been mentioned at the meeting...
The quote was reported by three Hong Kong media outlets – two major television stations and one radio station. But the reports were later taken offline, and the quote was cut from the remaining footage.

传媒访京团长萧世和唔应讲照讲　中联办执手尾急澄清｜即时新闻｜港澳｜on.cc东网:

不过，黄坤明“干扰内地论”曝光后，有香港中联办官员称这句属于内部言论，不作公开，有传媒其后即时有所回应，当中有部分传媒抽起被指惹争议的“干扰内地论”，并把该段新闻转为另一个重点，另有个别传媒更选择整段新闻抽起，换言之有关消息“讲咗都唔存在”。
其实今次有香港中联办官员突然要出来执手尾，显然有人不当地转达了官员的言论，唔应讲照讲，究竟其背后意思是传媒要听话，还是不可以有自主权，大家心中都有把秤，可以自行作出判断，事件令今次访京团变成搞笑团。

6. CCP political interference in Canada and New Zealand

This is real interference in the political process, in Canada and New Zealand...maybe this happens in the US, but so far the Trump Administration has provided no public evidence to support its claims. If it exists the White House should share more details...

Vancouver society at centre of vote-buying allegations has ties to Chinese government | The Star .

A Richmond, B.C.-based society that has been named in an RCMP investigation into alleged vote-buying is part of a Canadian alliance that has met with Chinese government authorities, according to official documents.
RCMP in Metro Vancouver said Friday they were probing allegations that the Canada Wenzhou Friendship Society sent out messages on social media app WeChat, offering voters a $20 transportation subsidy while urging chat group members to vote for certain candidates of Chinese descent, including Hong Guo, an independent mayoral candidate for Richmond; Peter Liu, a council candidate with Richmond First; and Melissa Zhang, a council candidate with Richmond Community Coalition.

It is worth noting that Wechat is a primary channel of CCP influence and interference, and untouchable by foreign governments.

Zhang Yikun and the alleged $100k donation - Newsroom.NZ:

The Chinese businessman at the centre of the Simon Bridges donation accusations is an active member of the Chinese community and has courted politicians across the political spectrum.
He’s been pictured with a range of high-profile politicians, including National leader Bridges, party president Peter Goodfellow, Paula Bennett, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Labour's Andrew Little.
But some have expressed concern about the man’s ties with the Chinese Communist Party, as many in the Western world question China’s political influence via donations and soft power initiatives.

7. US-China nuclear war risk

Just in case you weren't already worried, the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, with the theme "Do Nuclear Weapons Matter?", lays out the risks--Why a U.S.-Chinese War Could Spiral Out of Control by Caitlin Talmadge:

As China’s power has grown in recent years, so, too, has the risk of war with the United States. Under President Xi Jinping, China has increased its political and economic pressure on Taiwan and built military installations on coral reefs in the South China Sea, fueling Washington’s fears that Chinese expansionism will threaten U.S. allies and influence in the region. U.S. destroyers have transited the Taiwan Strait, to loud protests from Beijing. American policymakers have wondered aloud whether they should send an aircraft carrier through the strait as well. Chinese fighter jets have intercepted U.S. aircraft in the skies above the South China Sea. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has brought long-simmering economic disputes to a rolling boil.
A war between the two countries remains unlikely, but the prospect of a military confrontation—resulting, for example, from a Chinese campaign against Taiwan—no longer seems as implausible as it once did. And the odds of such a confrontation going nuclear are higher than most policymakers and analysts think.

If You Want Peace, Prepare for Nuclear War - Foreign Affairs - Elbridge Colby:

These capabilities could allow Russia or China to pressure or attack U.S. allies and to block any efforts by the United States to fight back. This should cause great alarm among U.S. policymakers: American grand strategy is rooted in a network of alliances designed to maintain favorable regional balances of power and protect U.S. access and trade across the globe. These alliances work as long as they can be credibly defended against outside challengers. But if Russia and China can win wars against the United States in Europe and Asia, respectively, then these revisionist states will press their advantage—with painful and possibly disastrous consequences for U.S. interests in the world.

8. Censored Google still better than Baidu?

So argues a PRC professor in the South China Morning Post--For China, even a censored Google search engine would be better than Baidu | South China Morning Post:

As a college professor, I find Baidu’s search results on scholarly matters deeply frustrating, because they don’t lead me to the webpages I wish to find. In contrast, Google’s search results are far more useful. Thanks to my part-time employment at New York University’s law school, I can use its virtual private networks (VPN) to access Google, a benefit that I consider more valuable than the extra pay.
And it is not just terrible search results, and the lack of access to useful tools such as Google Books. Baidu’s shameless commercialisation of its search engine has been the subject of controversy. For example, companies could – and maybe still can – bid for the top spots in Baidu’s search results, and users are not warned that these results are the outcome of commercial bidding and not sorted by relevance, as is the practice with Google.-Bai Tongdong is a professor of philosophy at Fudan University in China and a global professor of law at NYU’s Law School

Meanwhile, Baidu is joining an AI alliance--Introducing Our First Chinese Member to the Partnership on AI - The Partnership on AI:

The Partnership on AI was established to bring together diverse global voices to realize the promises, minimize the challenges, and better understand the impacts of artificial intelligence. Today, we are delighted to announce that our partnership has become a little more global, and even more diverse, with the inclusion of our first member from China – Baidu.

Which raises questions about this group can work with a champion of the Chinese Communist Party:

Shanthi Kalathil @ShanthiKalathil

Not snark, genuine query: how will @PartnershipAI ensure it upholds its own Tenet 6e while partnering with companies from China and other authoritarian states? 6e: Opposing development and use of AI technologies that would violate international conventions or human rights https://t.co/ZqYEGqfcrq

Partnership on AI @PartnershipAI

Today we welcome our first member from China @Baidu_Inc to the Partnership on AI. This is an important step toward building a truly global partnership that provides an open and inclusive platform for discussion and engagement on the… [1/2]

Business, Economy, Finance And Trade

China TSF Hits 8-month High in September | MNI Total social financing (TSF), a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, rose to an eight-month high of CNY2.21 trillion in September, much higher than the MNI median projection of CNY1.38 trillion and up from CNY1.52 trillion in August. The sharp increase is mainly due to a change in calculation method - as of September, local government bonds are now included in the TSF calculation.

Chinese Consumers Feel More Pain Than Official Data Suggests - WSJ $$ Though the official number is well below the government’s target of about 3% this year, consumers and economists say the figures fail to reflect the real rise in living costs, with rental prices jumping in big cities this summer and expenses in education, health care and other service sectors also on the rise. While official data has rental costs rising by less than 3% this year, the China Real Estate Association, a government-backed industry group, says rents have soared more than 10% in the period. A quarterly survey of urban consumers by China’s central bank released last month shows that more people—almost two-thirds of those polled—expect to feel pressure from price rises in the coming months.

China Treasury holdings lowest in 14 months - CNBC "The Treasury market is growing the government is issuing more Treaurys so foreign buyers are still significant participants but overall in the relative sense, their share of the Treasury market has been in decline for several years. This is just a confirmation of that,:" said Boris Rjavinksi, rates strategist at Wells Fargo.

China, World’s Biggest Exporter, Tries Branding Itself as an Importer - WSJ $$ A pivot point for the makeover is November’s China International Import Expo, a trade-show brainchild of President Xi Jinping, who has pledged to rebalance the Chinese economy and “chart the right course for economic globalization.” The weeklong event in Shanghai was a quick sellout, with 2,800 foreign companies from 130 countries renting exhibit space—including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Boeing Co. , Caterpillar Inc., Facebook Inc., General Motors Co. , Honeywell International Inc., Tesla Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. —as China promises 160,000 domestic buyers and a convoy of Chinese officials.

Tesla secures land in Shanghai for first factory outside US - AP Tesla said it signed a “land transfer agreement” on a 210-acre (84-hectare) site in the Lingang district in southeastern Shanghai.

Tourist Haven Becomes China’s Newest Free Trade Zone - Caixin The PBOC made the revision in September to account for a change in the way it calculates TSF so that it includes the issuance of special-purpose bonds issued by local governments. Beijing has called on local authorities to speed up the issuance of special-purpose bonds to fund specific types of construction projects, such as toll roads or subways, in a bid to boost the slowing economy.

China won't allow gambling or horse-racing in Hainan: paper | Reuters “Some online comments about opening casinos, allowing gambling and horse-racing, or copy from capitalism and adopt overall private ownership, are divorced from China’s reality and (they are) resolutely not allowed,” Liu Cigui was quoted as saying by the Hainan Daily.// 海南书记刘赐贵：网上有议论要开赌场搞博彩，这是决不允许的 – 澎湃新闻 And officials from the ministry of commerce and Hainan government answer questions about how to build free trade zone in Hainan 海南铺展对外开放新蓝图（在国新办新闻发布会上）-- 人民日报

Chinese regulator: Reforms underway to ensure fair and transparent capital market- CGTN Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), met with 15 delegates representing institutional funds and retail investors in Beijing over the weekend to hear their views on reform measures in the country's capital market. "Winter has come, and Spring is not far away," said Liu to the investors, referring to the stock market performances.

Mysteries Shroud Red Bull Dispute - Caixin The two sides have been locking horns since 2016 with media battles and legal fights. The Chinese partner, which operates local joint venture Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co. Ltd., added a twist to the saga by proclaiming in a statement Tuesday that the contract inked in 1995 granted it a 50-year agreement to manufacture and market Red Bull exclusively in China. It said that the agreement was signed involving three other parties: China National Food Industry Co., and Shenzhen Sinohao (Group) Co. Ltd., as well as Red Bull’s Thai owner, T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries Co...When asked by Caixin for comment, both China National Food and Shenzhen Sinohao said they didn’t know about the deal.

What's in a Name? A Lot If It Links a Billionaire to China's Xi - Bloomberg In a disclosure statement made to the Hong Kong bourse dated Monday, Geely revealed details of the holdings of its chairman and top investor Li Shufu, who has made a spate of eye-catching global autos investments over the past decade. While the scope of Li’s investment in the Hangzhou-based carmaker was well known, the name of his wife wasn’t. Listed as a joint holder of 4.9 million Geely shares is “Ms Li Wang, wife of Li Shu Fu.” Up until now, various websites -- and Wikipedia -- had given the name of Li’s spouse as Peng Lijuan. That’s similar enough to the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan, to have spurred speculation that Li, the largest shareholder in Daimler AG and the owner of Volvo Cars, is related to Xi through marriage.

China homeowners stage protests over falling prices | Financial Times $$ A wave of protests by Chinese homeowners against falling property prices in several cities has raised fears of a downturn in the country’s real estate market, adding to pressure on Beijing to stimulate the economy. // Comment: "A wave" may be a bit over-egged, seems to have been only a handful of incidents, and far from the first time these have happened over the years...

US senators reportedly warn Trudeau to ban Huawei on 5G | ZDNet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly been warned by two US senators to exclude Huawei from taking part in nationwide 5G mobile network deployments.

Currency manipulation claims 'total rubbish' - China Daily "If China manipulates it, the country should have tried to have its currency depreciated, which is not the fact," said Yu Yongding, a senior economist of the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

全国不动产登记信息将跨部门共享存量数据年底汇交_财经网 - CAIJING report that the national fixed asset registration database will be shared with the tax administration by the end of the year, a key step for any new attempt at a property tax

Politics, Law And Ideology

Prominent Uyghur Publisher Arrested, Under Investigation - RFA A senior Uyghur publishing executive and Communist Party official was arrested in July on suspicion he was involved in “separatism and religious extremism activities,” a source in the publishing sector told RFA’s Uyghur Service. Abdurahman Abey, approximately 65, had a 40-year career in writing and publishing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), serving as director of the official Xinhua Bookstore, and from 2005-2015 as director and Communist Party deputy secretary of the Xinjiang People's Publishing House.

Former Chinese politician Ismail Amat dies at age 84 - CGTN Ismail Amat, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and former top official of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, died at 11:58 a.m. in Beijing on Tuesday, at the age of 84. A statement from the central authority extolled Ismail Amat as an excellent member of the Communist Party of China, a loyal communist soldier, an outstanding leader in the ethnic work of the Party and the state, and an excellent son of the Uygur people.

Xinjiang camps: China takes its defence of ‘re-education centres’ overseas with Pakistan meeting | South China Morning Post China has taken its defence of the mass detention of Muslim minorites to an overseas audience, with its diplomats holding a meeting with a group of Uygur Chinese people in Pakistan to try to garner support for Beijing’s policies in the far-western region of Xinjiang.

Xi urges efforts to win battle against poverty on schedule - Xinhua | English.news.cn China should stick to its poverty relief target and work harder for a victory in the battle, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed when giving instructions on poverty reduction work, as the country observes the fifth National Poverty Relief Day, which falls on Oct. 17 every year.习近平：咬定目标加油干如期打赢脱贫攻坚战

How China's New Anti-Crime Policy Made a Hunt for Two Jailbreak Fugitives Go Viral | What's on Weibo In early October of 2018, a major manhunt on two jailbreak fugitives from a Liaoning prison dominated the news for days and caused a sensation on the Chinese internet. With the 100,000 yuan (US$14,500) reward notice going viral, it marked the first grand online exposure of the Chinese government’s policy to involve its citizens in combatting crime actively, but many netizens question how safe it is for citizens to meddle in criminal affairs.

Chinese man sues after being forced into mental health facility, mistreated | South China Morning Post Liu Gang (not his real name) said he was removed from his university, on the orders of an administrator, and spent 134 days as an involuntary patient at the centre after his mother was coerced into signing documents agreeing to his hospitalisation. He first tried to sue in 2016 but his case was thrown out. In March last year the Luoyang Luolong People’s Court was ordered to try the case, when Luoyang’s higher court ruled it had not been handled correctly. Liu told Chinese online news portal Thepaper.cn that he was force-fed depression and schizophrenia medication, beaten by nurses and given shock therapy against his will at the Luoyang Mental Health Centre.

Top political advisor stresses ethnic unity, religious harmony, social stability - Xinhua China's top political advisor Wang Yang has called for continuous efforts to consolidate and develop ethnic unity, religious harmony and social stability, win the battle against poverty and improve people's livelihood. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks while examining work related to ethnic and religious affairs and poverty alleviation in the Tibetan-inhabited areas in southwest China's Yunnan Province. // CCTV - 汪洋在云南调研

85 more counties removed from China's poverty list - China Daily They include 25 in the Tibet autonomous region, 15 in Yunnan Province and 14 in Guizhou Province. The others are spread across the provinces of Hebei, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai and in the Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.

Foreign and Military Affairs

Xi reiterates China's commitment to free trade, globalization - Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday reiterated China's commitment to free trade and economic globalization while meeting with Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club in Beijing. Briefing the guest on the Chinese people's pursuit for its "two centenary goals" as well as China's history, Xi said the great achievement of economic and social development in the past 40 years has strengthened China's determination of reform and opening up.

Chinese Anti-Submarine Warfare: Aviation Platforms, Strategy, and Doctrine | The Diplomat This piece will consider the rotary and fixed wing ASW capabilities the PLAN currently has and their trajectory, as well as briefly describing some of the other specialized ASW assets that the PLAN is developing. Finally, all of the aforementioned systems and platforms will be brought together to consider what an overall PLAN ASW strategy may look like.

China finishes drafting law on veterans' welfare - China Daily According to the ministry, it will send the draft law to the central and state organs, provincial-level governments and relevant military units to solicit opinions. The draft law has made overall plans and systematic regulations on the employment, job training and supporting measures of veterans, the ministry said, noting that retired soldiers who fought in wars will receive preferential treatment.

China's space technology focal point of Zhuhai Airshow CAST, known as the China Aerospace & Technology Corp (CASC) Fifth Academy, is China's main arm for the R&D and manufacture of spacecraft. The greatest achievements of the company will make a high-profile, public debut at the aerospace and military trade show in Zhuhai. In the spotlight will be manned space flight, deep-space exploration, satellite series, and a look at the application of these technologies to support civil missions.

Chinese mercenaries are tightening security on the Belt and Road | East Asia Forum Despite their nominally private status, Chinese PSCs are mostly staffed by former PLA soldiers with close, if indirect, ties to Beijing. They therefore operate with the tacit support of the Chinese government. As a result, Beijing can keep an eye on what these companies are doing while still maintaining plausible deniability in case things go wrong.

China made 14 incursions in Ladakh in August | IndiaToday says some were 10-18 KM inside the border

Xu Jilin, "The New Tianxia" - Reading the China Dream From the introduction by David Ownby - Xu then attempts to imagine a world in which some version of tianxia replaces China’s contemporary state-driven posture. In the context of China’s problematic relations with non-Han people on the peripheries—chiefly but not exclusively Tibetans and the Muslim peoples of Xinjiang—Xu suggests that the Qing dynasty politics of “multiculturalism,” which recognized self-rule for minority groups within certain limits, functioned better than current policies, which are a mixture of forced integration and forced modernization. In the context of the geopolitics of East Asia, Xu imagines a world based on shared tianxia values rather than interest-based alliances or antagonisms. And in the world at large, Xu proposes the creation and propagation of a tianxia 2.0, which will be “de-centered and non-hierarchical,” and hence ready to contribute to the construction of “new universalisms”—i.e., to give substance to the post-modern order.

China’s Moon Missions Could Threaten US Satellites: Pentagon - Defense One Gossel said putting a satellite at L2 could also enable Chinese attack spacecraft to zoom past the moon — about a quarter-million miles away — and then sneak up on critical U.S. intelligence and communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit, just 28,300 miles up — as occurred in the 2011 apocalypse-themed film “Melancholia.”

Supersonic missile passes test - Global Times A South China mining company completed a successful supersonic missile flight test on Monday, prompting a Chinese military expert to suggest the system will face little competition on the international arms market. The test at a discreet location in North China verified the launch, power and flight control systems, according to a statement released on Monday by Guangdong Hongda Blasting Company.

China’s New Attack Helicopter Is Ready for Serial Production | The Diplomat The export version of China’s Harbin Z-19E is ready to start batch production, according to a rep

Taiwan

US Navy research vessel docks in Taiwan amid China tensions - AP Taiwan's official Central News Agency says the Thomas G. Thompson arrived in the southern port of Kaohsiung on Monday to refuel and make crew changes. It quoted Defense Minister Yen De-fa as saying its visit is "unrelated to military activity." China objects to all governmental and military contact between the U.S. and Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory to be conquered by force if necessary. In Beijing on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China was "expressing our solemn concerns to the U.S. side" over the visit.

Taiwanese with mainland residence permits may be banned from public office | South China Morning Post Fines for those who don’t declare their status also being considered under proposal aimed at discouraging people from living across the strait

Tech And Media

Release of film featuring fallen Chinese celebrity Fan nixed - AP The director of “Air Strike,” featuring Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, says the film’s release has been canceled in the wake of her disappearance and conviction on tax evasion charges. The World War II thriller, also starring Bruce Willis and Adrien Brody, was to have been released Oct. 26. However, director Xiao Feng posted on his Weibo miniblog Wednesday that it was “time to let go” after eight years of work on the film.// Trailer for "Air Strike", looks like a total bomb:

Breaking WeChat’s Grip on China’s Social Networks — The Information $$ Genie Lin and Huang Tianqing, the two former WeChat executives, both left Tencent within the past year. Ms. Lin recently launched Pop, a Snapchat-like app with personalized cartoon avatars. Pop is backed by Bertelsmann Asia Investments, an investor in bike-rental startup Mobike and Chinese Airbnb rival Xiaozhu. Mr. Huang—also known as TS—founded Echo, which resembles Snapchat Stories loaded with even more emojis and stickers, and raised money from Gaorong Capital, an early investor in ecommerce app Pinduoduo. Even though Echo is still operating in beta mode, it already secured a $40 million valuation in the fundraising, a person familiar with the matter said.

GGV Capital Raises $1.9 Billion to Back U.S., China Startups - Bloomberg GGV Capital, a venture capital firm that was an early backer of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has raised $1.88 billion in funding for technology startups in the U.S., China and emerging markets. The amount, which is the largest GGV has raised to date, will be distributed across GGV’s funds that focus on companies at different stages, including $460 million for early-stage startups and $1.36 billion for later-stage companies.

Didi Chuxing to add thousands of Party members to its customer service · TechNode “Under the guidance of the higher Party organization, Didi plans to recruit a thousand Party member customer service representatives, who will be given the priority to be in the Safety and Emergency Customer Service Team to bring their exemplary role into full play,” the ride-hailing firm said in the WeChat post.

Society, Art, Sports, Culture And History

Foreign schoolboy arrested in China male escort karaoke club police raid | South China Morning Post The Chutian Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday that investigators found the club‘s owners had hired more than 20 young men – including the student, whose nationality is unknown – to provide “heterosexual escort services” for female karaoke guests. The men would also drink and sing with the visitors for 100 yuan (US$14) per hour.

Soccer Spending Spree Gets Red Card - Caixin China’s soccer authority is considering caps on investment, player salaries, and transfer fees for the soccer season beginning in 2019, state media reported Tuesday. If the China Football Association (CFA) puts the caps in place, they will affect both the Chinese Super League and the second-tier League A and will crack down on “signing bonuses, yin-yang contracts and other tax-evading behavior,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Hit TV soap opera portrayal of filial piety splits viewers by generation - Global Times A popular TV soap opera about a miserable mother has split viewers in an apparent reflection of evolving views on womanhood and patriarchy in modern Chinese society. Mother's Life began airing in September and achieved a viewership of over 2 percent on Beijing TV. Most such shows - 80 percent in fact - have viewerships less than 0.5 percent this year, the China News Service reported. The 76-episode series proved a palpable hit with older generations, but rated 2.8 out of 10 on the Douban review website.

Energy, Environment, Science And Health

China's central government chastises Jiangsu for not properly enforcing anti-pollution measures | Reuters China’s environment ministry accused an unspecified number of officials in Jiangsu province of not properly enforcing anti-pollution measures in the manufacturing hub on China’s east coast, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Agriculture And Rural Issues

China urges more oversight of large pig farms amid disease epidemic | Reuters China’s vice agriculture minister said on Wednesday that local governments should step up their oversight of large-scale pig farms and breeding farms as another province reported a fresh outbreak of the highly contagious African swine fever.

Beijing

Beijing's hukou reform brings 1st group beneficiaries - Global Times The Beijing municipal bureau of human resources and social security on Monday announced a name list of 6,019 people who had the most points among over 124,000 applicants for a Beijing hukou. If no questions are raised about their points, these people, aged between 31 and 58 and from sectors including technology, manufacturing, finance, media, education and public health, can receive their hukou starting Oct. 23 this year until the end of 2020, said the bureau.

US-China; PRC approach to European diplomacy…

Comments on this post are for paying subscribers