Bromides from Beijing for Israel and Palestine

“China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of the conflict and the worsening situation, and deeply saddened by the large number of civilian casualties caused by the conflict,” Wang said in a phone call with Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen.

• “All countries have the right to self-defense, but they should respect the international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians,” Wang added.

Wang expressed sympathy for the people in Gaza in a separate phone call with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on the same day. “What the Gaza Strip needs most is efforts to end the war and promote peace, not geopolitical calculations,” Wang said. “What the people of Gaza need most is security, food and medicine, rather than war, weapons, and ammunition.”

• “The only way to solve the Palestinian issue is to implement the two-state solution and realize the Palestinian people’s right to existence, right to statehood, and right to return,” he added.

Beijing has repeated calls for an immediate cease-fire and a “two-state solution” that allows for an independent Palestinian state, describing it as the fundamental way out of the conflict. But China to date has neither condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, nor has it even mentioned the group by name.

• Both Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a point of diverging from the Western-led support for Israel after the attacks.
• Calls for a ceasefire have repeatedly failed to pass at the U.N. Security Council, most recently after the U.S. vetoed a resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver aid to Gaza, stating that the draft “did not mention Israel’s right of self-defense.” The war will likely be broached again when Wang pays a visit to the U.S. later this week to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
• Meanwhile, Zhái Jùn 翟隽, Beijing’s special envoy to the Middle East, has embarked on a flurry of diplomacy in the region in a bid to de-escalate the conflict and promote peace talks between Israel and Hamas.

The conflict has also split views on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo — including a rise in extreme and antisemitic views — which China’s powerful censorship apparatus have allowed to proliferate. Click here for all the details.

Nadya Yeh

China has officially sacked its defense minister Lǐ Shàngfú 李尚福, two months after he vanished from public life. Li and former Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚, who was removed from his post in July after disappearing for several weeks, have both also been removed from their positions on the State Council. State broadcaster CCTV announced the news today with no further explanation, nor any announcement of a successor to Li.

China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 will visit the U.S. from October 26–28, the U.S. announced yesterday. Wang was Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2022, and then resumed the role this year after Qin Gang’s disappearance.

Wang is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It has not been announced whether he will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Wang’s trip is the highest-level exchange in a series of in-person meetings aimed at paving the way for an expected meeting between Biden and Chinese counterpart Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 in San Francisco in November. Today, a working group of American and Chinese officials held a “substantive, frank, and productive discussion” during their first meeting via video link to discuss economic topics, yet another small sign of improving ties between the two powers.

Wang also met with his Bhutanese counterpart Tandi Dorji yesterday. The two foreign ministers discussed the “conclusion of boundary negotiations and the establishment of diplomatic relations,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

China does not have official diplomatic relations with the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan, though the two sides maintain contact through periodic visits by officials. They also share a disputed border that runs through Tibet, a key point of tension which has never been officially recognized nor demarcated.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro Urrego arrived in China today for his first state visit to the country since he took office, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese counterpart Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 on Wednesday during his trip from October 24–26, during which they are expected to “draw a blueprint for the growth of bilateral relations” and attend the signing ceremony of cooperation documents, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Máo Níng 毛宁 said.

Advertising giant WPP sacked a senior executive based in Shanghai, after Chinese police raided the Shanghai offices of WPP-owned media agency GroupM and detained the unidentified employee and two others on suspicion of bribery last week.

“We are terminating the executive’s employment with the company, and GroupM is suspending trade with any external organization we understand to be part of the police inquiries,” the world’s biggest ad agency said in a statement.

China’s richest people have less money this year: 179 of the country’s top ranking billionaires are no longer on a list from the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute, which ranks China’s wealthiest people with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($690 million). Of those 179, 15% of them were in real estate, reflecting the country’s beleaguered property sector.

“Whilst the number of dollar billionaires from China has dropped by 51 in one year and 290 in two years, it is worth noting that China is still the ‘billionaire capital of the world’ with 895 billionaires, almost 200 ahead of the U.S. and more than triple the number in India,” the report’s chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogeweft said.

Weibo, China’s X-like social media platform, plans to display the real names of top influencers to the public, Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times reported last week. The move, which the report stated is aimed at “further curbing cyberspace chaos,” has stirred up heated debate among Chinese internet users.

Last week, Weibo’s CEO Wáng Gāofēi 王高飞 announced that users with more than 1 million followers will be required to reveal their identities on their profiles. “I’m testing out the controversial function myself first,” he said in a Weibo post on October 20 in response to user inquiries. Weibo has not officially announced the changes.

Cathay Pacific will cancel all flights between Tel Aviv and Hong Kong until the end of the year because of the war between Israel and Hamas, the latest airline to cancel flights operating in and out of the area. “In view of the ongoing situation in Israel, all Cathay Pacific flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv from today up to and including December 31, 2023 will be canceled,” the Hong Kong-based airline said in a statement on its website. Last week, China urged its nationals in Israel to book commercial flights back home.

Notable reads: China’s Age of Malaise is an excellent new piece from Osnos, author of China’s Age of Ambition, about the lowered expectations and gloom that have beset entrepreneurs and many urbanites in Xi Jinping’s China.

Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency’s top story is titled “Xi Jinping sent a letter to congratulate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.”

Operating under the United Front, a Communist Party organization that seeks to align non Party members and groups with Party objectives, the Federation was set up in 1953 to bring capitalists into the communist fold, and still functions as a tool for the Party to monitor private sector players and ensure their compliance.

The People’s Daily today continues the propaganda we noted yesterday about trade unions and the role of women; the two top stories are about the 13th National Congress of Chinese Women opening in Beijing, and Xi Jinping giving a speech to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions in which he urged delegates to “uphold the Party’s overall leadership over the trade unions and organize and mobilize hundreds of millions of workers to actively participate in building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.”

English-language state media today is focusing on the International Symposium to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of China’s Principle of Amity, Sincerity, Mutual Benefit and Inclusiveness in Neighborhood Diplomacy, which took place today in Beijing. Xinhua titled its story on the event: “Xi vows China’s continued efforts to help build peaceful, prosperous Asian homeland.”

China has announced a “green aviation manufacturing revolution” in a 13-page Green Aviation Manufacturing Development Outline (2023-2035).

• The plan focuses less on net carbon emissions than on new technology such as commercial-use electric aircraft, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), and clean fuels.
• The plan aims to achieve “carbon neutral growth for flight emissions” by 2035, but China has not yet got on board with the 2050 deadline to achieve net-zero aviation emissions adopted by IATA, the global aviation industry group.

Aviation is one of the most challenging sectors to reform and decarbonize, and global progress is behind schedule.

• If unchecked, aviation’s share of global carbon emissions could increase from 3.5% in 2020 to 22% by 2050.
• China, the U.S., and the EU are counting on the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and new technology such as electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft to reach green aviation. China however has no top-level policy or a functioning market for SAF.
• China has just certified the world’s first electric “flying taxi,” an eVTOL that could radically change urban transport and short-distance aviation.

But in China as around the world, progress on green aviation is still painfully slow.

Barry van Wyk

• In the latest installment of China Book Chats, Christopher Marquis talks to Angela Zhang, author of Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism, a book that delves into one of China’s underappreciated tools for countering Western sanctions: antitrust law.

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

The boss goes to the central bank
China’s Xi makes first known visit to central bank / Reuters
“Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 made his first known visit to the nation’s central bank since he became president a decade ago, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, as China’s economy and financial markets grapple with headwinds.”

U.S.-China tech war
U.S. chip curbs stymie efforts by China surveillance group to diversify / FT (paywall)
“SenseTime, once the darling of China’s artificial intelligence sector, has been pushing to diversify away from unreliable government revenues by snapping up high-powered chips that every AI company wants.”

Automobile industry
Mitsubishi Motors to end production in China, invest in Renault EV unit / Reuters
“Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors said it will end production of its cars at its joint venture in China and transfer its stake in the unit to its Chinese partner, becoming the latest foreign automaker to cut back its operations in the world’s top auto market.”

China’s wealthy
Number of China’s wealthy falls amid property crisis, Hurun finds / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The number of Chinese individuals worth more than 5 billion yuan ($690 million) has fallen 15% from its peak in 2021, reflecting the property crisis-plagued economic slowdown and competitive e-commerce landscape.”

AI
China banks jump on AI bandwagon to cut costs / Caixin (paywall)
“Banks in China are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to save on labor costs and improve efficiency, but the transition faces both technical and regulatory hurdles, according to experts in the field.”

Private sector
China takes aim at development roadblocks in private sector / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s cabinet has announced plans to launch a sweeping inspection campaign next month to tackle issues hindering economic development, especially ones affecting private enterprises.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Defense Minister sacked, removed from State Council along with former foreign minister
China announces the removal of defense minister missing for almost 2 months with little explanation / AP
“China has replaced Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who has been out of public view for almost two months, state media reported Tuesday. No further information was given.”
China ousts defense minister, the second senior leader to leave in three months / Reuters
Li Shangfu axed as defense minister in second China leadership shock / SCMP (paywall)
Removal of Li Shangfu as China’s defense minister ends stratospheric career in space, military and government / SCMP (paywall）
China officially expels Li Shangfu as defense minister / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
China removes defense minister Li Shangfu, state broadcaster says / Caixin (paywall)
China strips missing defense minister of government posts / WSJ (paywall)
China dismisses defense minister amid swirl of speculation / NYT (paywall)
China’s ex-foreign minister Qin Gang stripped of last remaining state title / SCMP (paywall)
“Qin Gang, China’s shortest-serving foreign minister, has been stripped of his only remaining government title.”

New finance minister
China names Lan Foan as new finance minister amid stimulus push / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China has appointed Lán Fóān 蓝佛安, a technocrat with little central government experience, as the new finance minister, state media said on Tuesday, as the government ramps up fiscal stimulus in a bid to revive the economy.”

Xinjiang exports surge
Xinjiang defies Western sanctions as foreign trade hits record high, surges by 47% / SCMP (paywall)
“Western China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region defied Western sanctions in the first nine months of the year as its foreign trade hit a record high.”

U.S. official discovers Hong Kong has no Second Amendment
U.S. state senator says carrying gun into Hong Kong was ‘honest mistake’ / SCMP (paywall)
“A U.S. state senator has called his arrest in Hong Kong on suspicion of possessing a gun without a license the result of an ‘honest mistake’ after he forgot he had the firearm in his briefcase until he was on a flight to the city.”
‘Honest mistake,’ says U.S. politician arrested on gun charge in Hong Kong / NYT (paywall)

Academic repression in Hong Kong
Hong Kong universities under pressure as academics head for exits / FT (paywall)
“The effects of Beijing’s crackdown on civil liberties in the Chinese territory was one major factor in Kobayashi’s decision to give up his higher Hong Kong salary for a lower-paid position in Tokyo, he said.”

Taiwan elections
Latest Taiwan election survey is more bad news for Tsai Ing-wen’s ruling DPP / SCMP (paywall)
“Support from Taiwanese voters for the ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party presidential front runner William Lai Ching-te has fallen below 30 per cent for the first time in seven months.”
Taiwan presidential hopeful calls for better economic ties with China / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“An opposition candidate for Taiwan’s presidency has called for better economic ties with China, while also warning of Beijing’s recent economic coercion.”
Taiwan presidential frontrunner blasts China over Foxconn probe / FT (paywall)
“Taiwan’s leading presidential candidate has blasted China over a probe of Apple supplier Foxconn, accusing Beijing of unfairly targeting the Taiwanese company ahead of an election early next year.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
California governor visits China and says his state will always be a partner on climate change / AP
“The governor of California opened a week-long trip to China on Monday with an assurance that his state will always be a partner on climate issues no matter how the U.S. presidential election turns out next year.”
China, U.S. officials discuss macroeconomic developments in meeting / Reuters
“Officials from the United States and China on Monday held a two-hour long virtual meeting to discuss domestic and global macroeconomic developments, the U.S. Treasury Department said, calling the meeting ‘productive and substantive.’”
China’s top diplomat to visit Washington / Caixin (paywall)
“Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to the U.S. this week and meet with senior American officials, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Tuesday, as the world’s two major powers continue high-level communications aimed at stabilizing bilateral ties.”

Philippines
U.S. renews warning it will defend Philippines after incidents with Chinese vessels in South China Sea / AP
“The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.”

Cambodia
Billion-dollar airport whets Cambodia’s appetite for Chinese investment / Caixin (paywall)
“Planes have begun landing at a new Chinese-built airport near the city of Siem Reap, the latest symbol of how Cambodia is pinning its hopes for infrastructure investment on its political and economic patron.”

Israel-Hamas war
China’s Wang Yi calls Israeli, Palestinian foreign ministers, condemns harm to civilians / SCMP (paywall)
“In the first call to his Israeli counterpart since the Gaza war began, Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 stressed that countries acting in self-defense are obliged to protect civilians.”
China delivers emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza / Caixin (paywall)
“China has delivered emergency humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and will continue to provide material assistance to them as needed, China’s top diplomat said, as the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war climbs to over 6,000 people.”

Denmark
Denmark has been ‘naive’ on China and now seeks to ‘de-risk,’ PM says / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country plans to strengthen partnerships with countries like Japan as it seeks to ‘de-risk’ its relations with China.”

Japan
China missile edge over U.S. puts Japan at risk of threats / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s advantage over the U.S. in theater-range missiles in Asia could enable it to “intimidate” frontline states like Japan during a crisis over Taiwan, according to an expert specializing in China’s military strategy.”
Japan names Yamada envoy to U.S., Kanasugi to China / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The Japanese government on Tuesday named Shigeo Yamada and Kenji Kanasugi as its new ambassadors to the United States and China, respectively, both effective immediately.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Feminism
Opinion: For more babies, China must ensure its population policy is fit for the modern woman / SCMP (paywall
Qian Liu writes: “With China’s fertility rate having fallen off a cliff, many experts have offered a variety of advice for addressing the problem. But all of the proposals lack an essential component: a critical perspective on the role of gender.”

Education
Young Chinese embrace budget-friendly elderly universities / Sixth Tone
“In China’s growing number of universities meant for the elderly, young Chinese are finding good value for their money — and company.”