Australian PM Albanese patches up ties with Xi

Editor-in-Chief

• He is the first Australian leader to visit the country since 2016 and his trip is a notable step towards stabilizing diplomatic ties after years of tensions.
• Xi and Albanese smiled and shook hands at the start of their bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People.
• Xi praised the Australian leader for working to stabilize ties with China since being elected to his position in May last year. It is the second time they have met face-to-face; the first time was on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022.

Xi and Albanese’s meeting addressed substantive issues, according to official readouts and media reports.

• Albanese said he raised the issue of Chinese-born Australian writer Yáng Héngjūn 杨恒均, who has been behind bars in China since January 2019 on vague espionage charges after a closed-door trial.
• Xi raised China’s ambition to join a key regional trade pact, the CPTPP.
• The two also moved to resume an annual leader-level dialogue, which has been suspended for a number of years. Albanese invited Xi to visit Australia.

This meeting is a sign of warmer relations between the two countries, after years of tense ties.

Nadya Yeh

China urged Myanmar to help maintain stability along their shared border after a surge of fighting in Myanmar between military junta forces and insurgents rocked the region last week. Clashes have erupted along the 2,000-kilometer (1243-mile) border along China’s Yunnan Province, with local militias reportedly seizing military posts and key roads leading to China.

“China is closely following the conflict in northern Myanmar. We urge parties to immediately stop the fighting, settle differences peacefully through dialogue and consultation, avoid escalation of the situation and take effective measures to ensure security and stability at the China-Myanmar border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wāng Wénbīn 汪文斌 said on November 2.

Blizzards and sleet storms have killed at least eight people and left one missing as a wave of unseasonably cold weather hits northeast China. Temperatures are forecasted to drop to 0°C (-32°F) overnight in Beijing, while heavy snowfall and sleets are expected to hit large swaths of the north.

In the country’s northernmost province of Heilongjiang, some areas were predicted to receive accumulative precipitation exceeding 40 mm. Harbin, the province’s capital city, suspended passenger coach services, canceled flights, and halted all classes as of this morning.

China’s economy tsar Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 has been appointed as head of office of Central Financial Commission (CFC), central bank publication Financial News reported today. He is now the chief of two of the Communist Party’s top financial sector policy making bodies following his appointment as Party chief of a separate Central Financial Work Commission (CFWC), cementing his leadership and strengthening Party control over China’s financial system.

Today, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that He will visit the U.S. from November 8–12.

Former Chinese premier Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强 was cremated on November 3 following his death late last month. The ceremony for Li, who passed away from a heart attack at 68, was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, with Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and other top officials present to pay their final respects. National flags were lowered to half-mast in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and other places around the country, drawing crowds of mourners at various sites marking his legacy and an outpouring of grief on social media.

China pledged to expand market access and boost imports during a keynote speech yesterday by Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 at the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. “No matter how the world changes, China’s pace of opening up will never stall, and its determination to share development opportunities with the world will never change,” Li said.

Qatar agreed to supply Chinese state-owned petrol giant Sinopec with liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 27 years, the Gulf emirate’s state-owned energy company QatarEnergy announced at the CIIE on November 4. It is the second such agreement signed with Sinopec, as China seeks to bolster its energy security.

Beijing has banned Communist Party officials from investing their savings into domestic Chinese private equity funds, Chinese state media reported. It’s the latest move by the party-state in its sweeping anti-corruption crackdown among the ranks of its government and its financial sector.

Meanwhile, Zhāng Hónglì 张红力, former vice president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), has been placed under investigation for suspected severe violations of law and Communist Party discipline — a euphemism for corruption, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on November 4.

U.S. consultancy Gallup will close all three of its offices in China, becoming the latest overseas firm to pull out of the country amid geopolitical tensions and Beijing’s growing scrutiny over foreign entities operating within its borders. “Regrettably, Gallup has made the decision to close its operations in China,” the Washington-based company said in a notice seen by the Financial Times.

Ant Group won government approval to roll out AI-powered services to the public. The Alibaba fintech affiliate has gotten the green light to roll out products powered by its large language model Bailing, in the race to create a domestic generative AI-powered chatbot to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency leads with a story on Xi meeting South African Vice President Paul Mashatile of South Africa, and the top photo carousel highlights Xi’s meetings in the last two days with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.

The People’s Daily print edition front page leads with two Xi Jinping stories: The General Secretary sent a letter to the 6th China International Import Expo, and excerpts of his Essays on Chinese Modernization were published and distributed.

Last month, Arkansas ordered Chinese state-owned seed and pesticide giant Syngenta to sell its land holdings in the state, the latest sign of increased scrutiny over Chinese ownership of American farmland. But Arkansas isn’t the only state taking such measures.

• Florida, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio and three more states have all passed legislation this year that restricts some land ownership for Chinese entities.
• The laws vary in their application, and only the Arkansas law has forced Syngenta — owned by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina — to sell off its holdings.
• A federal provision to ramp up national oversight of purchases of U.S. land by Chinese buyers has also been tacked on to the yearly must-pass Pentagon budget, currently being hashed out in Congress.

Chinese purchases of farmland have touched a nerve in American politics, but Georgetown Professor Kristen Looney told us that the current frenzy around the issue might be a bit of an overreaction.

• “In the case of China, I think the restrictions are a bit absurd because Chinese investment in U.S. agricultural land is so low,” she told The China Project.

Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland pales in comparison to other countries — U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows that in 2021, Chinese owners held slightly less than 1% of all foreign holdings, which, in turn, accounted for around 3% of all U.S. agricultural land.

Click through to The China Project for all the details.

Eduardo Jaramillo

• Beijing surrendered a rare opportunity to find common ground with its rivals, the U.S. (and West more broadly), India, and Japan, when it failed to denounce Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
• The UAE and Bahrain have released statements condemning Hamas. Many Arab states now share with Israel the conviction that China’s comprehensive strategic partner, Iran, is the region’s most destabilizing force.

Perhaps most ironically, Hamas (and its supporters in Iran, etc.) embrace a strand of radical Islam that China fears most.

• It’s not that Chinese scholars and policymakers are oblivious to all these realities. However, China’s leadership seems to believe that acknowledging them does little to advance Beijing’s interests.

Dale Aluf, the research and strategy director at SIGNAL Group, has this op-ed.

Dale Aluf

• The China Agenda for the coming week includes U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hosting Vice Premier Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 in San Francisco.
• Lao She’s greatest work: In Rickshaw Boy, Lǎo Shě 老舍 offers vivid descriptions of Republican-Era Beijing while crafting a timeless story about the vicissitudes of a worker’s life in an unforgiving society, where the rich and poor occupy the same space but exist in different worlds. Check out the latest in Paul French’s Ultimate China Bookshelf.
• This week on Sinica is a live recording from New York on the eve of the 2023 NEXTChina Conference. Jeremy Goldkorn joins Kaiser as co-host, with guests Maria Repnikova of Georgia State University, who specializes in Chinese soft power in Africa and on Sino-Russian relations, and Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project and co-host of the excellent China Global South Podcast and China in Africa Podcast. This show is unedited to preserve the live feel!

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

China is shifting from real estate
More semiconductors, less housing: China’s new economic plan / NYT (paywall)
“Policymakers, wary of inciting reckless borrowing in real estate, are instead investing heavily in factories and trying to help indebted local governments.”

China’s stock markets
Tweaks to Beijing Stock Exchange set off China IPO boom / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Chinese investors are flocking to new stock offerings on the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) after the securities regulator in September issued a new round of revisions for the bourse targeting small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Japan’s fading rally drives some investors to cheap China shares / Caixin (paywall)
“Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn.”

U.S.-China tech war
China warms to U.S. chipmaker Micron, as tensions with Washington ease / Reuters
“China’s commerce minister told Micron Technology Inc’s (MU.O) president Beijing would welcome the U.S. semiconductor company deepening its footprint in the Chinese market, signally a further thaw in relations between the world’s top two economies.”
China faces new U.S. chip rules: 5 things to know / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Nvidia’s business in China came under the spotlight last month when the U.S. singled out the AI chip developer with earlier-than-expected restrictions on exports of its most advanced products.”

Semiconductors
Mammoth Chinese chip project raises another $5 billion / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“A mammoth semiconductor factory project led by China’s government in the east of the country has raised another $39 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), as the world’s No. 2 economy ramps up its drive to boost local supply of the key technology.”

Foreign companies in China
China vice president Han meets Bosch chairman Hartung, Xinhua reports / Reuters
Hán Zhèng 韩正 “said economic and trade cooperation has always been the ‘ballast stone’ of China-Germany relations, and China welcomes multinational companies such as Bosch, Xinhua reported.”

U.S.-China trade war
U.S.-China tech trade wars reveal vulnerabilities on both sides / FT (paywall)
“By using their respective points of leverage, Beijing and Washington are driving the other to sharpen attention on their own weaknesses.”

China’s financial sector
China’s He Lifeng named to key post in Central Financial Commission / Reuters
“A Chinese vice premier, Hé Lìfēng 何立峰, has been appointed head of the office of the Central Financial Commission (CFC), which is responsible for running day-to-day affairs of a new regulator tasked with overseeing a vast financial sector.”
China confirms Vice-Premier He Lifeng as head of new Communist Party finance body aimed at stronger control over sector / SCMP (paywall)
China to accelerate issuance of government bonds, finance minister says / Reuters
“China will accelerate the issuance and use of government bonds, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday citing an interview with new finance minister Lán Fó’ān 蓝佛安.”

Economic reform
China’s reform movement urgently needs another breakthrough / Caixin (paywall)
“With China facing a multitude of economic and societal challenges, there is hope there will be another breakthrough in the reform effort like the one made 10 years ago at the Third Plenum of the Communist Party of China’s 18th Central Committee.”

Pension funds
China basic pension funds’ record-low returns / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s basic pension funds entrusted for investment saw a record-low rate of return of 0.33% last year, earning just 5.1 billion yuan ($758.2 million), an official report showed Saturday.”

Escaping the ‘China-risk’
Multinationals plan moves to minimize China risk, ECB survey shows / Reuters
“More than 40% of multinational firms surveyed by the European Central Bank expect to move production to politically friendlier countries in the coming years, with risk related to China cited as the main concern, a paper showed on Monday.”
Shipping industry steers container production away from China / FT (paywall)
“The shipping industry is stepping up efforts to build steel containers outside China, lining up the spare capacity needed to shield a key component of global trade from supply chain pressures and geopolitical rifts.”
Foreign firms pull billions in earnings out of China / WSJ (paywall)
“For years, foreign companies plowed the profits they made in China back into China, using the cash to finance new hiring and investment as its giant economy expanded rapidly. Now, as growth slows and tensions between Beijing and Washington rise, they are pulling those profits out.”

Youth unemployment
China tries to lure its unemployed youth to the countryside / WSJ (paywall)
“Communist Party seeks to deploy hundreds of thousands to rural communities, aiming to keep young people busy while city jobs are scarce.”

Forced labor
Lawmakers press Costco on China forced labor / WSJ (paywall)
“Costco Wholesale faces questions from influential U.S. lawmakers over alleged links between forced labor in China and products sold in the retail giant’s stores.”

AI
China took part in leaders’ AI meeting even though U.K. did not acknowledge / Reuters
“China said it attended a top-level ministerial meeting at the U.K. AI Safety Summit on Thursday, despite not being listed by Britain among the ‘like-minded’ participants and not featuring in official handshakes or the family photograph.”
AI pioneer Kai-Fu Lee builds $1 billion startup in eight months / Caixin (paywall)
“A Chinese startup founded by computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee has become a unicorn in less than eight months on the strength of a new open-source artificial-intelligence model that outstrips Silicon Valley’s best, on at least certain metrics.”

Aviation industry
China’s Comac moves ahead with C929 widebody jet amid reports Russia joint venture has fallen apart / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese aerospace giant Comac is pushing ahead with the design of a new widebody passenger jet amid reports that its joint venture with Russia to build the plane has fallen apart.”

FDI
Foreign investment in China turns negative for first time / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Outflows of foreign direct investment in China have exceeded inflows for the first time as tensions with the U.S. over semiconductor technology and concerns about increased anti-spying activity heighten risks.”
China foreign investment gauge turns negative for first time / Caixin (paywall)
“A measure of foreign investment in China turned negative for the first time since records began in 1998, highlighting how overseas companies are pulling money out of the country due to geopolitical tensions and higher interest rates elsewhere.”

Oil
Aramco ups investment in refining and petrochemical facilities in China / Caixin (paywall)
“Saudi Aramco will invest more in the refining and petrochemical businesses in China as the Saudi Arabian oil giant tries to wring more money from every barrel of oil the kingdom produces amid a global shift toward a low-carbon economy, a company executive said.”

Huawei
Huawei’s new phone ratchets up rivalry with US and Apple / FT (paywall)
“Huawei’s new flagship phone seemed to be the homemade answer to Beijing’s growing concerns over this trend. But longer term, taking on Apple will come at a steep cost.”
State-backed lab picks Huawei chip to power mega AI computer in China / Caixin (paywall)
“A government-backed computer lab has announced that it will use a new version of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) chip to build what “will probably be the world’s largest” AI computing platform.”

Ant Group
Ant Group wins approval to release AI products to Chinese public / Reuters
“Ant Group has received Chinese government approval to release products powered by its ‘Bailing’ artificial intelligence (AI) large language model to the public, a spokesperson for the Chinese firm said on Monday.”

DouYu
Chinese tech executive Chen Shaojie, founder and CEO of DouYu, said to be held ‘incommunicado’ after authorities find porn on popular live-streaming platform / SCMP (paywall)
“The founder and chief executive of Tencent Holdings-backed DouYu International Holdings, Chén Shǎojié 陈少杰, has been held “incommunicado” by Chinese authorities for weeks, according to local media reports, months after online censors allegedly uncovered pornographic content on the popular video game live-streaming platform.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Extreme weather
Blizzards kill eight, leave one missing in central Mongolia / Reuters
“Blizzards sweeping through central Mongolia since last Friday have killed eight and left one missing, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, citing Mongolian emergency management authorities.”
Blizzards in China’s northeast ground flights, force school closures / Reuters
China set for sudden change from warm to freezing in year of extreme weather / Reuters
“Temperatures in northern China are set to plunge as much as 20 degrees Celsius after the second-warmest October in decades, but warmer-than-usual conditions could soon be back under the influence of El Nino.”
Northeast China sees first major blizzard this season and forecasters warn of record snowfall / AP
Blizzard blankets Northeast China / Caixin (paywall)

Nuclear energy
China says official to lead a delegation in China-U.S. nuclear talks / Reuters
“The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday a leading official from its department of arms control affairs will lead a delegation in China-U.S. nuclear talks.”

Anti-aging
Chinese scientists claim anti-ageing breakthrough with spinal cord discovery / SCMP (paywall)
“After seven years of research, Chinese scientists say they have identified a unique group of cells that contributes to the aging process and might be mitigated with everyday vitamin C supplements.”

Weight loss drugs
The miracle and mirage of weight loss drugs / Caixin (paywall)
“Made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Ozempic belongs to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1. It mimics the GLP-1 hormone, released in the gut in response to eating and has been used to regulate blood sugar levels to treat type 2 diabetes.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

New investment curbs rules for Party officials
Beijing bans Communist party officials from private equity investing / FT (paywall)
“Beijing has told Communist Party cadres to stay away from private equity as President Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 anti-corruption drive intensifies.”

Corruption
Former ICBC vice president under investigation for suspected corruption / Caixin (paywall)
“Zhāng Hónglì 张红力, a former senior executive vice president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), has been placed under investigation for suspected severe violations of law and Communist Party discipline — a euphemism for corruption.”

Aftermath of Li Keqiang’s death
Opinion: Grief for Li Keqiang reflects wistfulness for China’s road not taken / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Steve Tsang writes: “An outpouring of public affection for a deceased leader of a ‘people’s government’ should be an opportunity that a ruling party can grab with both hands. Instead, Xi practically pressed the panic button, severely restricting public celebrations of Li’s life and work.”
China mourns former Premier whose death hovers over Xi Jinping / WSJ (paywall)

Hong Kong bankers’ summit
China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng to headline Hong Kong bankers’ summit, hot on heels of appointment to lead top finance body / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s Vice-Premier Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 will speak virtually at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)-hosted bankers’ summit taking place in the city this week, the highest-ranking official to headline the second confab of global financial heavyweights.”
Hong Kong treats top bankers to lavish banquet, cultural show to launch Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit / SCMP (paywall)
“Heavyweights from the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, who have descended on Hong Kong for a summit organized by the city’s monetary authority, were welcomed with a lavish banquet at the Palace Museum.”
Opinion: Why the world’s top bankers are gathering in Hong Kong / FT (paywall)
Kaye Wiggins writes: “For Wall Street firms, China must be one of the most difficult places to make money right now. So it is highly revealing that many of the biggest names in global finance are set to arrive in Hong Kong this week.”
Wall Street’s top bosses descend on Hong Kong after deep job cuts / Caixin (paywall)

Fentanyl in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs uncovers HK$140 million drugs stash inside shipment from North America, including largest fentanyl haul in over 3 years / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong customs officers have seized about HK$140 million ($17.9 million) worth of suspected drugs, including the largest haul of suspected fentanyl in at least three years, smuggled inside machine parts shipped from North America.”

Taiwan
Mainland Chinese authorities announce new measures to draw Taiwanese to Fujian province / SCMP (paywall)
“Mainland Chinese authorities have streamlined the legal procedures for Taiwanese people who want to travel to and work in the neighboring province of Fujian in the latest push to attract residents from the island.”
Ex-Taiwan military chief says U.S. help will take ‘weeks’ in crisis / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The bulk of U.S. forces would take weeks to reach Taiwan should China invade, former Taiwanese military chief Lee Hsi-min told Nikkei, urging the island to focus more on smaller, mobile weapons so it can better fend off an initial attack.”

China International Import Expo
China Premier Li seeks to bolster his country’s economic outlook at Shanghai trade fair / AP
“Chinese Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 on Sunday pledged to continue deepening reforms, expand free trade zones and relax market access for foreign investment while seeking to generate excitement around a largely lackluster economy.”
China will further expand market access, Premier Li says / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China will further expand market access and increase imports, its premier told a trade fair in Shanghai on Sunday, amid criticism from European firms who said they wanted to see more tangible improvement in the country’s business environment.”
China’s Premier vows to boost imports, expand market access / Caixin (paywall)
U.S. Agriculture Department to debut at China’s largest import fair / Caixin (paywall)
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to showcase its presence at China’s largest import fair for the first time since the event’s launch in 2018, underscoring Washington’s efforts to boost farm sales despite intensifying bilateral tensions in other spheres such as tech.”
European chamber in China criticizes upcoming Shanghai trade fair as ‘political showcase’ / Reuters
“The European Union Chamber of Commerce on Friday criticized an upcoming trade fair in China as being more of a ‘political showcase’ than about doing business and pushed for more tangible measures to restore confidence among European companies.”
At China Expo, a next-gen prosthetic knee offers new hope / Sixth Tone
“Equipped with a microprocessor, a motor, and multiple sensors, Össur’s Power Knee adapts to users’ movements in real time. But its price will remain a hurdle for many.”
At Shanghai Expo, China pledges open markets, trade expansion / Sixth Tone

South China Sea
U.S. airs concerns to China about ‘dangerous and unlawful’ South China Sea actions / Reuters
“The United States and China held ‘candid’ talks on maritime issues on Friday, including on the contested South China Sea, and the U.S. side underscored its concerns about ‘dangerous and unlawful’ Chinese actions there, the U.S. State Department said.”
China and Southeast Asia nations vow to conclude a nonaggression pact faster as sea crises escalate / AP
“Chinese and Southeast Asian diplomats renewed a vow to finalize a nonaggression pact for the South China Sea in three years, two regional diplomats said Thursday. The pledge came during a meeting last week in Beijing, where they expressed alarm over recent confrontations in the disputed waters.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Yellen: Indo-Pacific allies should not have to choose between U.S., China / Reuters
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday sought to reassure Asian countries that the U.S. approach to China would not lead to a ‘disastrous’ division of the global economy that would force them to take sides.”
Yellen says the U.S. economic relationship with China must consider human rights and national security / AP
“Washington wants to build an economic relationship with Beijing that takes into account national security and human rights and is fair to both sides, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday.”
Yellen will host the Chinese vice premier for talks in San Francisco before the start of APEC summit / AP
Yellen to welcome Chinese economic tsar ahead of APEC summit / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Janet Yellen to meet China’s vice-premier ahead of Biden-Xi summit / FT (paywall)
Treasury Secretary Yellen to hold economic talks with Chinese counterpart / NYT (paywall)
U.S. farm leaders, visiting China, talk up agriculture trade / Reuters
“Dozens of U.S. agriculture industry representatives gathered in Beijing on Thursday to meet Chinese counterparts amid growing U.S. efforts to bolster farm trade even as political ties between their two countries remain strained.”
China, U.S. hold talks on maritime security / Caixin (paywall)
“Chinese and U.S. officials held the first round of consultations on maritime affairs in Beijing last week, where both sides called for strengthened communications to ‘avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment,’ the foreign ministry said.”

Israel-Hamas war
China says will work to restore peace in Palestinian territories / Reuters
“China will do its utmost to restore peace in the Palestinian territories as it takes over the presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC), its foreign ministry said on Monday, as tensions intensify in the Middle East.”

North Korea
China supported sanctions on North Korea’s nuclear program. It’s also behind their failure / AP
“Chinese middlemen launder the proceeds of North Korean hackers’ cyber heists while Chinese ships deliver sanctioned North Korean goods to Chinese ports.”
North Korean art sells in China despite UN sanctions over nuclear program / AP
“For sale at a recent Beijing art exposition was a painting with an asking price of $2,460 that depicted the snow-capped Mount Paektu, the mythical birthplace of the Korean people.”
Flights tracking North Korean sanctions busters anger China / FT (paywall)
“The job of the Aurora CP-140 long-range surveillance aircraft is to ‘detect, deter and disrupt’ tankers carrying illicit shipments of oil and petroleum products to North Korea, often from Taiwan and China, in violation of UN sanctions.”

Cuba
China’s President Xi meets Cuban prime minister in Beijing / Reuters
“China’s President Xi Jinping met Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday, Chinese state media reported, a day after the Cuban leader signed cooperation documents with Xi’s deputy at a trade fair.”

Australia
Australia’s PM Albanese says important to have communication with China / Reuters
“Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday that Australia has an interest in the continued stable growth of China’s economy and its ongoing engagement with the world.”
Australia’s Albanese retraces historic Beijing walk on visit to mend ties / Reuters
“Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stopped by Beijing’s Temple of Heaven on Monday as he followed in the footsteps of the first Australian leader to visit China, retracing a walk made five decades ago as ties were being established.”
Australia’s Albanese seeks dialogue, cooperation in China visit / Reuters
Australia PM says China visit ‘very positive’ for bilateral relations / Reuters
Australia and China: rocky road back to trade and visits / Reuters
Anthony Albanese will soon be the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China / AP
Australian and Chinese leaders welcome improved ties though disagreements remain / AP
Australian prime minister to protest blogger’s detention conditions while meeting China’s leader / AP
Xi Jinping tells Anthony Albanese China-Australia ties are now ‘on the right path’ / SCMP (paywall)
Australia PM Albanese looks to smooth strained ties with China visit / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Australia seeks reset with Xi Jinping while balancing ties with U.S. / FT (paywall)

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia looks to China to help build up its renewables industry / Caixin (paywall)
“Saudi Arabia will be counting on partnerships with Chinese companies to help the Gulf country build up a renewable energy industry of its own, according to an executive at its sovereign wealth fund.”

Canada
China jets endangered crew of Canadian chopper in international waters / Reuters
“Chinese warplanes buzzed a Canadian helicopter over international waters in the South China Sea last weekend and then fired flares at it, Defence Minister Bill Blair said on Friday, saying the incidents had put the crew in danger.”
China hits back after Canada accuses PLA jets of ‘unsafe’ South China Sea moves / SCMP (paywall)

Myanmar
China urges Myanmar to cooperate on maintaining stability on border / Reuters
“Myanmar should cooperate with China to maintain stability on their common border, a Chinese official said on Monday, after a surge of fighting in Myanmar between junta forces and insurgents rocked the region.”

Bhutan
Opinion: Bhutan is not giving in to China’s hardball diplomacy / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Brahma Chellaney writes: “The latest round of talks between China and Bhutan over their unsettled border concluded last week with an agreement about the responsibilities and functions of a new joint technical team set up to demarcate the frontier. “

Latin America
The Biden administration pushes for more US-Latin America trade, seeking to lessen Chinese influence / AP
“President Joe Biden is trying to increase trade with Latin America, meeting on Thursday with the heads of the Dominican Republic and Chile as part of a broader effort to disrupt China’s dominance in global manufacturing.”
China-Colombia steer trade towards cattle, but will US have a cow as Beijing makes Latin American inroads? / SCMP (paywall)
“Colombia’s all-important cattle industry expects to see a stampede of growth in exports to China following agreements signed between the two sides, and China’s smartphones will find a booming market in the South American country, the Colombian consul general in Hong Kong said this week.”

EU
China steel association says EU carbon tax a new trade barrier, calls for more talks / Reuters
“The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) proposed by the European Union creates a new trade barrier for Chinese exports, China’s state-backed steel association said on Friday, calling for more talks with the bloc to address climate issues.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

LGBTQ
Hong Kong kicks off Asia’s first gay games despite opposition / Reuters
“The Gay Games Hong Kong (GGHK) kicked off on Saturday, its first time in Asia, despite opposition from anti-LGBTQ lawmakers and human rights activists.”
Hong Kong holds first Asian leg of Gay Games amid security, rights concerns / Reuters
“Hong Kong will be the first Asian city to hold the Gay Games from Friday, co-hosting them with a Mexican city in one of the financial hub’s biggest events since COVID-19, despite ban calls from rights activists and lawmakers opposing LGBTQ efforts.”
How Hong Kong’s Gay Games stumbled in sprint towards finishing line but still made ‘history’ / SCMP (paywall)

Ballet
American Ballet Theatre returns to China after a decade as U.S.-China ties show signs of improving / AP
“American Ballet Theatre returned to China on Thursday for the first time in a decade in the latest sign that strained U.S.-China relations are beginning to improve.”

‘Friends’ in China
In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, Chinese fans mourn an old friend / AP
“Long before ‘Friends’ made its official debut in China, the show was a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the country. In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend.”

Catholic church
Head of China’s state-backed Catholic church will visit Hong Kong as ties with Vatican are strained / AP
“The leader of China’s Communist Party-sponsored version of the Catholic church will visit Hong Kong this month at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, fostering dialogue as China-Vatican relations remain strained.”

False information on Douyin
Aristotle becomes latest casualty in China’s narrative war with the West as scholar questions philosopher’s existence / SCMP (paywall)
“Did Aristotle really exist? The provocative question, which was the topic of a viral video by nationalistic Chinese scholar Jīn Cànróng 金灿荣, has launched yet another battle in the narrative war between China and the West.”

The dark side of business marriages
Taking stock of love and losses in the ‘world’s supermarket / Sixth Tone
“Transnational marriages can be an asset in a place like Yiwu, a major global trading hub. But if they break down, it’s often the wives who pay the price.”

Books
The bookstore giving Shanghai’s women a room of their own / Sixth Tone
“When Wang Xia opened Shanghai’s first ‘female-friendly’ bookstore in 2020, she just wanted to create a safe space for women to express themselves. She had no idea how successful — or potentially sensitive — the business would become.”

Makeup
Chujiu: A master of disguise / Sixth Tone
“The makeup artist, who has found fame with her magical transformations, explains the motivation behind the hit ‘100 Villains’ series and the hours of work needed to create just one short video.”