Xi and Putin give a show of unity in Beijing

• Without naming the U.S., Xi positioned the BRI as an alternative to the Western-led global order.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin also gave a speech in which he invited investment from foreign states in several Russian trade corridors.

Xi had a three-hour meeting with Putin today on the sidelines of the Forum.

• Xi told Putin that political mutual trust between the two countries is steadily deepening, while Putin noted that bilateral trade had reached $200 billion.
• After meeting with Xi, Putin was filmed in Beijing flanked by Russian officers carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase, which can be used to order a nuclear strike.

There was no mention today of the “no limits” partnership they announced just before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, but the two sides presented a united front.

Barry van Wyk

The U.S. accused China of “a centralized and concerted campaign” conducted by Chinese fighter pilots toward their U.S. and allied counterparts in international airspace, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced yesterday.

The DOD also released photo and video footage that show 15 recent cases of “coercive and risky operational behavior” by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets crossing in front of a U.S. aircraft in the East and South China Sea, with one as close as 20 feet from the nose of the U.S. plane.

A man who was shot by Hong Kong police during a 2019 protest was sentenced to 47 months imprisonment by a district court today. Tsang Chi-kin (曾志健 Zēng Zhìjiàn) was sentenced to 40 months for rioting and seven months for allegedly assaulting a policeman with a stick on October 1, 2019, when widespread pro-democracy demonstrations took place to “mourn” National Day amid the city’s controversial amendment to its extradition bill. He pleaded guilty to both charges last month.

Tsang, who was 18 years old at the time, was shot in his left lung when an officer fired a live round at close range, leaving him in critical condition. He and three others spent two years hiding in safehouses in Hong Kong, after his failed bid to be granted asylum by the city’s U.S. consulate. He was arrested by police last July as the four were about to board a boat to flee to Taiwan.

China’s economy grew more than expected according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, which today reported 4.9% year-on-year in the third quarter. The country’s GDP expanded 1.3% from July through September compared to the previous three months, beating market predictions and putting Beijing’s annual growth target of 5% within reach as it steps up support for the world’s second-largest economy.

But the country’s beleaguered property sector is still struggling, with investment tumbling 9.1% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period last year.

China approved dozens of genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean seed varieties for planting, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced (in Chinese) yesterday. It’s a breakthrough move for a country which imports the largest amount of soybeans and corn, but has long been cautious in adopting any gene-edited or GM seeds in its push for food security.

Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency’s top story today is a brief report on the meeting between Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Vladimir Putin.

The People’s Daily’s print edition is unusually colorful, with a top story and group photo from last night’s Belt and Road Forum dinner, and two stories on Xi’s meetings yesterday with the presidents of Chile and Indonesia.

• Deng, only 16, was the youngest of 84 students who set off down the Yangtze River from Sichuan Province. The late Ezra Vogel, in his biography of Deng, described the future Chinese leader’s journey to France as “formative.”
• Deng and his peers did indeed find inspiration abroad — just not the kind that his bourgeois sponsors anticipated.

The France he arrived at was not the liberal paradise the Chinese had imagined. Racism and xenophobia were widespread. French soldiers were returning to civilian lives, and there were few jobs.

• Ironically, several Chinese leaders organized protests against working conditions and racism, and were deported for their troubles.
• Frustrated, and motivated, by his experience, Deng turned to radical politics. He joined the European communist movement, working in a print shop under the direction of Zhōu Ēnlái 周恩来.

Tellingly, when Deng Xiaoping left France in the summer of 1926, his destination was not immediately China. Click through to James Carter’s column to find out where he ended up.

James Carter

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Economic gloom or boom
China’s economy grows faster than expected in third quarter / FT (paywall)
“China’s gross domestic product grew 4.9% year on year in the third quarter, beating market expectations as Beijing steps up support for the world’s second-biggest economy.”

U.S.-China tech war
China rebukes U.S. over latest chip restrictions / Reuters
“China has lodged a stern rebuke of the United States over its latest chip curbs, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after the Biden administration published new measures to further restrict Beijing’s access to cutting-edge technologies.”

Electric vehicles
Chinese electric vehicle groups braced for wave of consolidation / FT (paywall)
“The future appeared bright for Shanghai electric vehicle start-up Aiways when it was founded in 2017. Led by former Volvo and state auto executives, the company counted tech giant Tencent, ride-hailing group DiDi and battery champion CATL among its investors.”

AI
China launches AI framework, urging equal rights and opportunities for all nations / SCMP (paywall)
“China proposed a framework for artificial intelligence at the third belt and road forum, on Wednesday calling for ‘equal rights’ on development regardless of a country’s political systems, a day after Washington broadened its restrictions on China’s access to chips.”
China expected to attend UK summit on artificial intelligence next month / FT (paywall)
“China is planning to attend the UK’s summit on artificial intelligence at Bletchley Park next month, according to British and Chinese officials, despite recent controversy over alleged spying by Beijing in Westminster.”

Country Garden
Country Garden default talk swirls as offshore debt deadline passes / Reuters
“A Country Garden $15 million coupon payment deadline has expired without word of payment, fuelling expectations that China’s biggest private property developer has defaulted on its offshore debt as the nation’s real estate woes deepen.”
Country Garden founder Yeung, the tycoon who called himself ‘dumb’ / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Agriculture
China approves GM corn and soybean seed varieties in crop boost / Caixin (paywall)
“China has approved dozens of genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean seed varieties for planting, in a breakthrough move that could eventually boost production and reduce dependence on foreign supplies.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China’s detention of foreigners
Opinion: China must immediately end unfair detention of foreign nationals / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
From the Nikkei View: “Foreigners in China are forced to live with the grim knowledge that they could be detained by the authorities at any time for any reason. Beijing enacted a revised counterespionage law in July that allows for all information exchanges involving ‘national security and interests’ to be regarded as potential ‘espionage.’ This means anyone could be framed as a spy at the arbitrary discretion of the authorities.”

Military modernization
China’s march to military modernisation still has barriers to overcome: from U.S. tech curbs to Beijing’s own distrust of private sector / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese President ​​Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 has described his goal of transforming the People’s Liberation Army into a world-class military as one of the main ‘strategic requirements for comprehensively building a modern socialist country.’”

Military aerial intercepts
Pentagon accuses China’s fighter jets of ‘coercive’ acts in Indo-Pacific / FT (paywall)
“Chinese fighter jets conducted several hundred ‘risky and coercive’ aerial intercepts against aircraft flown by America and its allies in the Indo-Pacific over the past two years, the US defense department said on Tuesday.”
Pentagon releases footage of hundreds of ‘highly concerning’ aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes / AP
“The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the last two years — more than the total amount over the previous decade and part of a trend U.S. military officials called concerning.”
China’s leaders are directing jet-fighter harassment of U.S. aircraft, Pentagon says / WSJ (paywall)

Railway diplomacy
How China is building railways in a bid to fast-track diplomacy / SCMP (paywall)
“Railway diplomacy is a key part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, especially in developing countries.”

Espionage
Allied spy chiefs warn of Chinese espionage targeting tech firms / NYT (paywall)
“F.B.I. officials say more than half of Chinese spying efforts aimed at stealing technology occur in Silicon Valley.”

BRI
Xi Jinping unveiled new action plan for Belt and Road Initiative, Vladimir Putin gave first international address since Ukraine war / SCMP (paywall)
“​​Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address at Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be closely watched for any new light he may shed on the future of the global infrastructure initiative.”
Xi hails Belt and Road’s growth from ‘sketch’ to reality / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Putin and U.N. chief to speak at Belt and Road forum / Caixin (paywall)
World Leaders gather for Belt and Road forum / Caixin (paywall)
With Putin by his side, Xi outlines his vision of a new world order / NYT (paywall)
China’s Xi doubles down on Belt and Road as path to new world order / WSJ (paywall)

Hong Kong
Hong Kong protester shot by police sentenced to nearly four years jail / Reuters
“A man who was shot by Hong Kong police during mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 was sentenced to 47 months imprisonment by a district court on Wednesday on multiple charges, including rioting and perverting the course of justice.”

Ethiopia
Ethiopia prime minister: Africa is becoming economic, political and social powerhouse / Reuters
“Africa is now realizing its potential and capacity, with the formerly side-lined continent harnessing its demographic dividend and natural resources and becoming an economic, political and social powerhouse, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Wednesday.”

Myanmar
Fraud syndicate leader in Myanmar may have faked his Chinese residency, sources say / Caixin (paywall)
“One of two leaders wanted by Chinese police for running a cross-border telecom fraud syndicate out of northern Myanmar may have illegally obtained his Chinese mainland identity card by falsifying household registration information, Caixin has learned.”

Russia
Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination / AP
“The leaders of Russia and China met Wednesday in Beijing and called for close foreign policy coordination, as concerns grow about possible conflicts with the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s rising threats against Taiwan.”
Vladimir Putin gets diplomatic stage at Belt and Road gathering in Beijing / SCMP (paywall)
China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin discuss Gaza crisis and Ukraine war at belt and road forum meeting / SCMP (paywall)
Xi meets ‘old friend’ Putin and emphasizes ‘deepening’ trust / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Wenzhou — China’s city of entrepreneurs
How Wenzhou became a trading hub / Sixth Tone
“When it comes to Wenzhou, the first word that springs to mind is probably business. Known as the birthplace of China’s private economy, Wenzhou natives have spread out across the world, opening shops and forming trading networks wherever they go.”

Vlogging
Shandong vlogger inspires fans with honest depictions of everyday life / Sixth Tone
“A seemingly unremarkable young man in China has become a social media star in a matter of weeks as his unfiltered videos about his everyday life have been praised for running counter to the overly filtered depictions of life seen on much of social media.”