Ground control to majors Tang and Jiang

China sent its youngest-ever crew of astronauts to its Tiāngōng 天宫 (“Heavenly Palace”) space station today.

• The Shenzhou-17 mission successfully launched at 11:14 a.m. local time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) reported (in Chinese). It is the 30th flight mission and the 12th manned mission of China’s manned space program.
• The Chinese astronauts onboard include Tāng Hóngbō 汤洪波 (born 1975), Táng Shèngjié 唐胜杰 (born in 1989), and Jiāng Xīnlín 江新林 (born in 1988). They will replace the current crew that has been on the station for six months and conduct experiments in space medicine, space technology, and other areas, as well as help install and maintain the equipment inside and outside the station.
• “It’s important to remember that China to date has only sent 20 different people into space…over a 23 year period,” Kevin Pollpeter, senior research fellow at the national security research non-profit CNA, told The China Project. “As the astronauts get younger, the astronauts who have been in space have now been able to train and pass on their experiences to a younger cohort.”

The CMSA also confirmed previously-announced plans to expand the Tiangong station “at an appropriate time” with the addition of a new module, according to the agency’s deputy director Lín Xīqiáng 林西强.

• “We extend an invitation to the world and welcome all countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space to cooperate with us to participate in the China Space Station missions,” Lin said per Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
• The announcement comes one day after the CMSA said (in Chinese) it would send a new telescope to probe the deep universe during a press conference to debut the Shenzhou-17 mission.

The successful launch and plans to expand the space station are the latest efforts by China to become a major space power by 2030.

• On October 23, Belarus announced that it will join China’s International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program, the third country after Pakistan and Azerbaijan to sign up this month. There are now seven nations in the ILRS coalition: China, Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and South Africa.
• The ILRS, jointly founded by China and Russia in 2021, plans to set up a permanently inhabited base on the Moon’s south pole by 2030. It is widely seen as a rival to the U.S.-led Artemis program, which is building a Moon coalition of its own through a set of agreements known as the Artemis Accords.
• “This is a clear indicator that China’s efforts to promote ILRS as an international cooperation endeavor [are] gaining some footing,” Ian Christensen, a director at the space race watchdog organization the Secure World Foundation, told The China Project.

Click here for all the details.

Nadya Yeh

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

U.S. President Joe Biden assured the Philippines of an “ironclad” defense commitment yesterday after maneuvers by China Coast Guard ships led to collisions with Philippine vessels (see video) on a resupply mission to a manned outpost on the grounded Sierra Madre ship on the Ayungin Shoal (a.k.a. Second Thomas Shoal or Rén’ài Jiāo 仁爱礁).

Biden is expected to meet China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 tomorrow at the White House, Reuters reported, during Wang’s visit to the U.S. from October 26–28.

China and Colombia upgraded diplomatic ties to a strategic partnership following a meeting between Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro in Beijing yesterday. It is Petro’s first state visit to China since taking office in August 2022.

The elevated ties with Colombia means that Guyana is now the only South American country not to have “strategic” ties with China. It’s also a signal that Colombia, one of the U.S.’s principal allies in South America, is orienting itself towards Beijing, which has been on a charm offensive to bolster its influence in the region.

Australia arrested seven members of an alleged Chinese crime syndicate for laundering almost $229 million through one of the country’s largest money remitters in one of the biggest money-laundering investigations in the nation’s history, Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced today.

The Changjiang Currency Exchange, which the AFP claims is being secretly run by the Long River money laundering syndicate, has transferred more than $10 billion in the past three years. While most of the customer exchanges were legal, the AFP claims that the company “facilitated a system for organized criminals to secretly transfer unlawfully-obtained money in and out of Australia” of about $229 million.

Four Chinese nationals and three Australian citizens have been charged and are expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.

China’s defense ministry slammed the U.S. Pentagon’s annual report on China, stating that it “disregarded the facts and fabricated falsehoods” in a statement released yesterday.

The report “distorted China’s national defense policy and military strategy, exaggerated and sensationalized the nonexistent ‘China military threat,’ and speculated about China’s military development in areas such as nuclear capabilities, space and cyberspace,” Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wú Qiān 吴谦 said. He also accused the U.S. of being “the fundamental source of international disorder and the biggest disrupter of regional peace and stability.”

Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) released the Pentagon report (PDF here) assessing China’s military capabilities. It claimed that China has been accelerating the expansion of its nuclear arsenal, and currently has 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal and will probably have over 1,000 warheads by 2030.

A record 2.83 million people have applied for China’s national public servants exam this year, according to Beijing-based Huatu Education Group, up from the nearly 2.5 million that signed up in 2022. The increased appetite for civil service positions comes as the country faces a soaring youth unemployment rate and a highly competitive job market for a record 11.58 million fresh university graduates.

Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency’s top story celebrates the 10th anniversary of “China’s Principle of Amity, Sincerity, Mutual Benefit and Inclusiveness In Neighborhood Diplomacy.” State media has been playing up the anniversary all week around China’s hosting of a seminar on the topic on Tuesday.

The People’s Daily print edition also plays up China’s friendly relations with other countries, following up on yesterday’s Xinhua stories on Xi meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro during the latter’s state visit in Beijing, where the two leaders agreed to upgrade China and Colombia’s relationship to a strategic partnership. Other headlines on the People’s Daily front page include stories playing up engagement with several countries, including with the U.S.:

• Xi Jinping Congratulates National Committee on U.S.-China Relations at Annual Awards Dinner
• Xi Jinping meets with California Governor Newsom
• Hán Zhèng 韩正 meets with California Governor Newsom
• Lǐ Qiáng 李强 meets with Kyrgyz President Zaparov
• Zhào Lèjì 赵乐际 meets with Colombian President Petro

Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled export controls aimed at China’s development of its advanced semiconductor industry, expanding on sweeping restrictions that were put into place on October 7, 2022.

• The new rules close loopholes in the previous regulations, changing thresholds for what kinds of chips and chipmaking equipment can be shipped to China.
• They also add several Chinese firms to the U.S. entity list, meaning American firms must apply for export licenses to sell to the firms.

The new regulations are packed with technical terminology, and run hundreds of pages long. We sat down with Reva Goujon, a director at Rhodium Group, who helped explain what the new rules will mean for companies in the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, and for China’s chip industry more generally.

• The controls close some of the more egregious loopholes, preventing U.S. companies like Nvidia from sending high-performance chips that have gone to China in the last year.
• They also align with export controls that the Netherlands and Japan published in the past year, better coordinating U.S. efforts with its partners.

Read all the details to better understand how the U.S. continues to ratchet up pressure on China’s semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Eduardo Jaramillo

In the early 2000s, golf’s popularity soared in China, embraced by even the country’s highest leaders. During this boom, Dan Washburn wrote The Forbidden Game, which is as much about the momentous changes happening in China at that time as it is about the sport.

• Washburn argues that the game was a barometer for all of China’s concerns at the time: economic growth, “social harmony,” corruption, the growing wealth gap, and, most absorbing, the hopes and aspirations of the few players from more humble roots.
• He follows several characters, including an American golf course developer and Zhōu Xùnshū 周训书, who, though from a humble background, aspired to be a golf pro.

You don’t hear much about golf in China these days, given Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 corruption crackdown and the game’s association with illegal dealings. Rewind to the earlier 2000s, and you get a different picture — golf was a big thing, but then, so was aspiration.

• So Washburn’s book reflects a time that may seem almost unimaginable to anyone under 30 — a time when senior leaders and foreign businessmen golfed while doing tech transfers and negotiating billion-dollar inward investments.
• To take to the golf course now — for the country’s political leaders at least — would be a career-destroying act.

Paul French writes about Washburn’s book in the latest edition of Ultimate China Bookshelf.

Paul French

• The many business projects between China and Trinidad and Tobago. Seeing its oil draining away, Trinidad is seeking to become a logistics hub for international trade, capitalizing on its position between Latin America and the Panama Canal. So, naturally, China was one of its go-tos. Alex Colville has the latest China Ties column.

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Electric vehicles
Stellantis plugs China hole with $1.1 billion Leapmotor deal / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Stellantis NV has struck a $1.1 billion deal for a stake in Chinese electric vehicle maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd. just days after ending manufacturing in the country, as legacy global automakers race to catch up with a new breed of rivals leading the transition to battery-powered cars.”
Stellantis to invest €1.5 billion for 20% stake in Chinese EV maker Leapmotor / FT (paywall)
Stellantis to buy 21% of China’s Zhejiang Leapmotor for $1.6 billion / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Chinese EV maker Leapmotor to build EVs at Stellantis plant: executive / TechNode

Nomura
Nomura overhauls China joint venture as losses mount / FT (paywall)
“Japan’s biggest investment bank Nomura has begun restructuring its lossmaking joint venture in China after delays in securing the licenses needed to expand its business in the country.”
Nomura reassesses mainland China business plan as losses mount / Reuters
Nomura redraws China strategy, cuts jobs after losses deepen / Bloomberg (paywall)

Country Garden and China’s beleaguered property sector
Country Garden’s missed bond payment triggers CDS payout / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Derivatives that protect against a default by Country Garden Holdings Co. were triggered after the troubled Chinese developer didn’t pay interest on a dollar bond.”

Graphite curbs
China says graphite export curbs not targeted at specific sector / Reuters
“China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that recently announced restrictions on graphite exports are not targeted at any specific sector.”
Battery makers hunt for graphite ahead of China controls / Bloomberg (paywall)
“South Korean companies are rushing to buy more graphite from China before export controls on [the] electric vehicle battery ingredient take effect in December.”

Chips and the U.S.-China tech war
Uncle Sam orders Nvidia to cease most AI chip sales in China ‘immediately’ / Register
“Restrictions on the export high-performance AI accelerators to China have already gone into effect, Nvidia informed investors in a Monday regulatory filing.”
U.S. orders immediate halt to some AI chip exports to China, Nvidia says / BBC

Ecommerce
China’s TikTok bans rapid livestream selling / Sixth Tone
“Starting from Friday, Douyin will forbid such ‘rapid introductions’ marketing tactics, whereby products are introduced one after the other with minimal or no product information provided. Violators may be fined and even see their accounts closed.”

Illegal wood
Chinese company exports illegal timber worth millions from D.R.C. despite ban: report / China-Global South Project (paywall)
“Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development, a Chinese-owned timber company, exported $5 million worth of illegally logged timber in the first six months of 2023 alone, according to a new report by Global Witness.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Space
China sends three more astronauts to space station / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China has successfully launched a rocket to send a team of three astronauts to the nation’s space station.”
China’s youngest-ever astronauts blast off to space station / Al Jazeera
China has sent its youngest-ever astronaut crew to the Tiangong space station / CNN

Archaeology
Dozens of ancient stone grenades found in Great Wall of China weapons storehouse / SCMP (paywall)
“Archaeologists in China discovered 59 stone grenades inside the first-ever weapons storehouse found along the Great Wall of China.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Israel-Hamas war
Israeli envoy says Taiwan a good friend, China’s response to Hamas attacks ‘disturbing’ / Reuters
“Israel’s envoy in Taipei said on Thursday that Taiwan has been a ‘good friend’ whose support Israel has appreciated, but China’s response to the attack by Hamas militants has been ‘disturbing.’”
China vetoes ‘evasive’ U.S. proposal on Gaza at deadlocked UN Security Council / SCMP (paywall)
UN Security Council rejects dueling pushes to pause Gaza fight / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The United Nations Security Council voted down dueling U.S. and Russian resolutions that sought to pause the fighting between Israel and Hamas and open the flow of humanitarian aid, as pressure mounted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to let food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.”

U.S.-China war-of-words over the Philippines, South China Sea
Biden warns China After Incidents Involving Philippine Ships / Bloomberg (paywall)
“President Joe Biden warned China that the U.S. would be forced to intervene if Beijing attacks Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, after two separate collisions in the disputed waterway over the weekend.”
U.S. worries about escalation in Pacific as China steps up confrontation / WSJ (paywall)
“Amid the tensions, talks between the U.S. and Chinese militaries remain largely frozen, which leads Washington to worry that a misstep could trigger a dangerous escalation.”
Biden warns China not to attack the Philippines / FT (paywall)
China says U.S. has no right to get involved in its problems with Philippines / Reuters
Philippines ‘not at war with China’ but says Xi’s sea talks are ‘just for show’ / SCMP (paywall)
China releases videos showing ‘provocative’ actions by U.S. ship / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s military released video footage that it said shows ‘provocative’ actions by a U.S. warship in the South China Sea, escalating a dispute between the nations over maneuvers by their navies in the disputed body of water.”
Views from Manila on China-Philippines confrontations in South China Sea / China-Global South Project (paywall)
“The recent confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the South China Sea are prompting significant commentary in the Philippines media, where it appears that public opinion toward China is hardening. Commentators have taken a distinct[ly] tough line on the relationship, accepting that it’s going to be tough going in the years ahead.”

U.S.-China ties
Exclusive: Biden set to speak with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday, sources say / Reuters
Xi calls for stable ties in meeting with California governor Newsom / Caixin (paywall)
Gavin Newsom, on climate mission to China, gets an audience with Xi / NYT (paywall)
U.S.-China ties quietly mending even as global turmoil surges / Bloomberg (paywall)
“With the Israel-Hamas war further dividing a world shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and elevated inflation, U.S.-China ties are suddenly providing cause for some optimism.”
China’s defense ministry blasts Pentagon’s annual report / Reuters

Russia and Central Asia
China Premier urges stepped up trade, investment with Russia / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese Premier [Lǐ Qiáng 李强] told his Russian counterpart that he wants to boost their trade and other cooperation, underscoring the nations’ close ties with the war in Ukraine well into its second year.”
China’s Li Qiang calls for progress on Central Asia railway / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for accelerated cooperation on a planned international railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan during a visit to the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Wednesday, Russian and Chinese state media reported.”

Australia
Australia police arrest seven in money laundering bust linked to Chinese organized crime / Reuters
“Australian police have arrested seven members of an alleged Chinese crime syndicate for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through one of the country’s largest money remitters after a giant sting operation involving U.S. Homeland Security.”
Australia raids ‘sophisticated’ Chinese crime ring operating in ‘plain sight’ / SCMP (paywall)

Taiwan
Taiwan monitors Chinese carrier group in Pacific / Reuters
“Taiwan’s military sent forces to keep watch on Thursday after a Chinese naval formation led by the aircraft carrier Shandong passed the island’s south and entered the western Pacific, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.”
Taiwan reports 15 Chinese air force planes in its air defense zone / Reuters

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
Li Shangfu’s dismissal as defense chief came with no details, but a few clues / SCMP (paywall)
China’s firing of defense minister: Five takeaways / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Censorship and dissent
Trial of Uyghur filmmaker to begin in China this week / Guardian
Ikram Nurmehmet, “a Uyghur filmmaker who was arrested in Beijing earlier this year will appear on trial in Xinjiang on Wednesday.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Fashion
Bridal fashion capital: How Chaozhou holds its place in the spotlight / Sixth Tone
“Chaozhou, once the world’s bridal gown-making hub, is resorting to legacy, adaptability, and originality as it grapples with challenges ranging from a shifting market to the pandemic.”

LGBTQ
China’s biggest gay dating app wants to beat Grindr / Rest of World
“Facing censorship and competition at home, Blued has plans to build the world’s largest gay social platform.”

Art
Australia returns smuggled historical artifacts to China / BBC
“A dinosaur fossil and two Tang Dynasty figurines were handed to the Chinese embassy in Canberra.”

Digital crackdown
China cracks down on youth cyberbullying, gaming addiction / Caixin (paywall)
“State Council announces regulations that require platforms to better protect minors online, including by monitoring private messages and using AI.”